Obama Admin Set to Finalize HHS Mandate

LifeSiteNews.com reports: ”The period for Americans to comment on the proposed regulation – which would force employers to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs to all employees with no co-pay – ended yesterday. The Sunlight Foundation notes that the controversial provision has generated ‘more comments than any other regulatory proposal on any subject government-wide.’ A coalition of supporters, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, says its groups delivered nearly 350,000 messages of support for the mandate.”

Now that the period for public comment is over, we can expect the finalized policy to be revealed soon. The HHS mandate remains one of the most unpopular ever passed, and will no doubt continue to be challenged in court. Americans don’t want to be forced to violate their religious beliefs and certainly the 1st Amendment – among others – ensures we should not be forced to violate our convictions. We will continue to oppose this terrible mandate and its life-ending policies. Click here for original article.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Doctor Says Plan B “Morning After” Pill Can Cause Abortion

Many pro-abortion advocates scoff at the idea that PLan B or, “Morning After” pills can cause abortion. They say this simply isn’t true. But a doctor with Princeton’s Office of Populatoin Research is letting everyone know that they can, in fact, cause abortion. A recent article reports:

“The same month that Germany’s bishops have backed the use of the morning-after pill for rape victims, one of the world’s leading authorities on the drug has said doctors have a duty to inform women that it could prevent a newly-conceived embryo from implanting in the womb, causing an abortion. Dr. James Trussell, Director of Princeton’s Office of Population Research, makes the statement in an academic review on the drug dated February 2013 and co-authored with Dr. Elizabeth G. Raymond. ‘To make an informed choice, women must know that [emergency contraceptive pills] … prevent pregnancy primarily by delaying or inhibiting ovulation and inhibiting fertilization, but may at times inhibit implantation of a fertilized egg in the endometrium…’” When this happen there is no doubt that an abortion has taken place. This is just one of the reasons why Christians nation-wise are fighting the HHS mandate that demands we provide such contraception in insurance plans; because they violate our religious beliefs. Click here for original article.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

PA Judge Denies Business Injunction Against HHS Mandate

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has denied a business an injunction against the HHS mandate which forces the business to violate their religious convictions in offering abortifacients in their insurance plans. If you read the court’s ruling carefully, what you understand is that the court admits that abortifacients are offered in insurance plans, that the plaintiffs are religiously opposed to such products, but that their religious freedom an convictions take a back seat to federal and/or corporate policy. A recent article shares the court’s ruling:

“We also find that any burden imposed by the regulations is too attenuated to be considered substantial.  A series of events must first occur before the actual use of an abortifacient would come into play….. Finally, we understand, and have carefully considered the fact that the Hahns may be … more concerned with the burden imposed on their religion by the requirement that they provide insurance coverage that may be used to ‘pay for, facilitate, or otherwise support abortifacient drugs.’ … We respect and fully appreciate this concern, and in no way dispute or denigrate its legitimacy and its effect as a burden upon the Hahns’ religious beliefs. However, a line must be drawn delineating when the burden on a plaintiff’s religious exercise becomes ‘substantial.’  We conclude that, here, that line does not extend to the speculative ‘conduct of third parties with whom plaintiffs have only a commercial relationship.’” In other words, you either choose to be a business owner or you choose to be a person of faith and convictions; but you may not choose to be both. Click here for original article.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Domino’s Pizza Sues Obama Administration Over HHS Mandate

Religions Clause Blog: “Yesterday yet another lawsuit was filed by a closely-held business raising religious objections to the mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most health insurance policies to include contraceptive coverage.  The suit was filed by Domino’s Farms Corp. and its sole stockholder, Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, alleging that the mandate violates plaintiffs’ rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments, RFRA and the Administrative Procedure Act.  The complaint (full text) in Domino’s Farms Corp. v. Sebelius, (ED MI, filed 12/14/2012) sets out Monaghan’s strong Catholic beliefs and his involvement with Catholic organizations, and alleges that he and  Domino’s Farms ‘share a common mission of conducting their business operations with integrity and  in compliance with the teachings, mission, and values of the Catholic Church.’ The complaint elaborates: Based on the teachings of the Catholic Church, and  their deeply held  religious beliefs, Plaintiffs do not believe that contraception,  sterilization,  or abortion are properly understood  to constitute medicine, health care, or a means of providing for the well being of persons.   Indeed,  Plaintiffs believe these procedures involve gravely immoral practices, specifically the intentional destruction of innocent human life.” Click here for original article.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Engaging Weekend: Bible Publisher Beats ObamaCare, States Decide Between Federal and States Control of Insurance, Judge Refuses to Order Forced Abortion

Engaging Weekend Logo

Engaging Weekend is a collection of articles from the weekend you might have missed. But we wanted to make sure you had a chance to read them.

Bible Publisher Beats Obama Abortion-HHS Mandate in Court

Another major victory for religious freedom was won over the weekend when Tyndale House Publishers, the world’s largest publisher of Bibles, won an injunction against the HHS mandate. LifeNews.com reports: “In its opinion accompanying a preliminary injunction order in Tyndale House Publishers v. Sebelius, the court wrote that ‘the beliefs of Tyndale and its owners are indistinguishable…. Christian principles, prayer, and activities are pervasive at Tyndale, and the company’s ownership structure is designed to ensure that it never strays from its faith-oriented mission…The Court has no reason to doubt, moreover, that Tyndale’s religious objection to providing insurance coverage for certain contraceptives reflects the beliefs of Tyndale’s owners. Nor is there any dispute that Tyndale’s primary owner, the Foundation, can ‘exercise religion’ in its own right, given that it is a non-profit religious organization; indeed, the case law is replete with examples of such organizations asserting cognizable free exercise and RFRA [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] challenges.’” Click here for original article.

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About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Does Sandra Fluke Speak for You on Women’s Issues?

I can say that I think Sandra Fluke is out of touch with a majority of women on a number of issues. But I’m a man. So I wonder if she speaks for women on these issues or not. Watch this video and decide for yourself if she speaks for you on issues of health care and “reproductive rights” or if she is the one who is out of touch. Click here for original article. If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Obama and His “Conservative” Health Care Speech

ObamaThe Obama administration doesn’t think it’s “conservative” for a government to tell women what health care choices she should make. Neither do I. For that matter I don’t know many conservatives that believe the government should be telling women what kind of health care choices she should be making. But the difference between me and the president is that I don’t think the government should be paying for contraception, or telling employers what they have to provide in their health insurance plans.

President Obama, in this video, accuses Mitt Romney, Republicans, and conservatives of wanting to tell women what health care choices they should be making. He speaks of contraception, mammograms, and other noble sounding things in an effort to paint his opposition as “extreme.”

He goes on to say that a boss should not be able to control the care a woman gets by refusing to offer contraception in their insurance plans. Because, as he is quick to say, a woman should be the one controlling the care she gets and no one else.

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About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Kids Need Parental Consent for Tattoos – But Not Contraception or Sterilization!?

The headline is only funny in a very mixed up world where right is wrong and wrong is right. To any person of values with a desire to raise their kids with those same values, the idea that a minor child cannot get a tattoo without parental consent but can get contraception of various kinds or even sterilized without their parent knowing is beyond absurd. It stretches the limits of rational thinking. And yet, through Obamacare, among other misguided laws, this distorted reality that tramples parental rights is precisely the world we find ourselves in today. According to a recent article, Obamacare “‘tramples parental rights’ because it requires them to ‘pay for and sponsor coverage of abortifacients, sterilization, contraception and education in favor of the same for their own children…Obamacare will allow children to make the radical choice of sterilization at an age when most can’t make up their mind as to what to wear to school the next day.” This is yet another example of inserting the government where parents ought to be the primary educators and overseers. Not to mention it further promotes, at taxpayer expense, the killing of innocent children through abortion. Click here for original article.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Sexualityism: Gratuitous Sex For Everyone

by Nathan A. Cherry, 08/21/2012

what is loveThere’s a growing public concern that society is out of control – sexually. Unlike China though we aren’t worried about a population explosion or even controlling our population; the concern is over what seem to be increasing policies designed to affirm sex as nothing more than a recreational activity. This new ideology, sometimes called sexualityism, is the belief that the answer can be found in “uncommitted, unencumbered, inconsequential sex,” according to Helen Alvare in her recent post for LifeNews.com.

Alvare’s expansive article is worth reading as she details the bread crumb trail laid down by liberals and progressives leading to a belief that sex, especially for women, should have nothing to do with commitment or procreation. It doesn’t take a genius to see what has taken place in recent years alone to push society toward this idea that sex should be an unfettered right for anyone (even children as young as elementary school).

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About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Something I Bet You Didn’t Know About Religious Freedom

by Nathan A. Cherry, 08/14/2012

stop obama hhs mandateDid you know that you as an individual are not protected by the Religious Freedom clause of the First Amendment? Yeah, in other words, your church services on Sunday and all actions taking place there are protected and the government cannot interfere with them. But, your rights stop the moment you leave the church and enter the “secular” world and workplace. Did you know that?

That might be something new for you, something you’ve never heard before. If so, that’s because it is a complete and utter false claim and misunderstanding of the Religious Freedom clause of the First Amendment. And it is exactly what the Obama administration is arguing in order to force Hercules Industries, a Colorado based company that won an injunction against the HHS mandate, to provide health insurance plans with items the owners object to based on their religious beliefs.

What exactly does the Obama administration mean by this, and how is it significant for you and me? Phil Lawler, writing at Catholic Culture sums it up:

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About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.