CMA Welcomes Lawsuits from Catholic Institutions
May 22, 2012
On Monday, May 21, 2012, 43 Catholic institutions filed lawsuits in 12 legal jurisdictions across the United States to fight the injustice of President Obama’s HHS mandate. In response, the Catholic Medical Association issued the following statement:
The Catholic Medical Association (CMA) welcomes this array of lawsuits because they express the resolve of Catholic institutions to defend the rights of millions of American citizens, and the Constitution itself, against an unprecedented attack by the Obama administration.
As Cardinal Dolan has noted, “We did not ask for this fight, but we will not run from it.” This conflict exists because the Obama administration is trying to force religious institutions to violate their beliefs and to re-define the relationship between government and churches.
President Obama’s attack on religious freedom and people of faith is no aberration. The Obama administration’s hostility to religious freedom is consistent and well-documented, ranging from litigation against religious freedom that Supreme Court Justices described as “extreme,” “remarkable,” and “untenable,” to tepid responses to attacks on human rights and activists around the world.
Christians know they must witness to the Gospel in word and deed, and that persecution is the rule, not the exception, in human history. But Christians—and Catholic institutions through these lawsuits, in particular—demonstrate love of neighbor when they fight to protect fundamental human rights and goods. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution aptly recognizes a fundamental human right, fosters a peaceful and prosperous society, and stands as a bulwark against abusive efforts to expand the power and control of government.
The CMA approaches this struggle with sober determination. The CMA is convinced that President Obama’s attempt to coerce religious institutions into advancing his political agenda is destructive of religious freedom, of civil liberty, of women’s health and, ultimately, of the profession of medicine. We call upon our members, and all people of good will, to contribute the time, effort, and resources required to resist this attack successfully.
Founded in 1932, the Catholic Medical Association is the largest association of Catholic physicians in North America. For more information, go to http://www.cathmed.org.
CONTACT: John Brehany, Ph.D., S.T.L., Executive Director & Ethicist
