Time Sensitive Action Alert: Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration

From Helen Alvare
Women Speak for Themselves 

Indiana has passed a law which balances religious freedom for citizens, groups and businesses, with the state’s “compelling interests” in requiring everybody to obey this or that particular law which might burden religion. It is not a remarkable law. The same language was passed federally by a bipartisan Congress in 1993 and signed by President Clinton. About 31 states have such a law either by statute or state constitutional interpretation.

The text of the law is here.

Since 1990, when the Supreme Court radically reduced religious freedom protections, if a state doesn’t have its own religious freedom guarantee, federal courts will not protect religious believers from the burdens imposed by most laws. The Indiana law is not a license to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. But it just might help businesses who don’t want to cooperate with contraception and abortion mandates, same-sex marriage, or assisted suicide.

LGBT groups are threatening to destroy Indiana financially. Groups like Apple and Angie’s List and the NCAA are also punishing Indiana.

Can you do three things? Everyone? Today?

1. Send notes of Support to Governor Mike Pence using this link. Say THANK YOU in the headline and thank him for signing and standing strong on the law.

2. Send notes to Angie’s List by using this link .  Contact Apple by calling/writing their corporate offices at the address below and telling them what you think of their tactics. 

Apple
1 Infinite LoopCupertino, CA 95014
(408) 996-1010

3. Send a quick note to your local paper…or call in to radio or TV? telling them what you think about the effort to crush Indiana?

Finally for Those of you in Indiana: Can you demonstrate support at the Governor’s Mansion or the State house in person? AND send notes to your local papers all over Indiana?

Now is when the grass roots power of our group can do some good if EACH of you does a LITTLE.

Looking for Media Spokeswomen; Can You Help?‏

From Helen M. Alvaré JD
Professor of Law
George Mason University (VA)*

I’m looking for 20-40 women,

- distributed across the nation

- of a few different faiths or without a particular faith

- of a few political parties

- of different ages and backgrounds (described more below)

Who are willing to spend time with me and a few other experienced speakers and writers for about 2 days this Fall, to take up the work of being trained to be more media-effective WOMEN WHO SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. We’re gathering funders now to pay for this training, so you won’t have to.

I’ve written you before that this is a watershed year for getting across the messages that women’s freedom and religious freedom are not enemies; and that women’s freedom is not secured – as the HHS Mandate proposes – by free contraception ensuring the possibility for sex without marriage and without kids.

Can you look at the following categories and write me if you fall into one of them and are willing to take the leap? 

*Business owners who are religious and who object to government reaching into their business and telling them to cover conscience-violating services.

*Employees of religious employers - who can speak to their employers’ good treatment of women.

*Employees of religious employers, who can speak to the good their employer does in society or what their community would look like without the religious provider.

*Women who used birth control or potential abortifacients like the IUD or morning-after drugs, and became seriously ill.

*Women medical professionals, who have treated women who have suffered medically from birth control or potential abortifacients like the IUD or morning-after drugs.

*Women with no moral objection to contraception, but who rejected it because it affected their relationships badly.

*Women who reject artificial birth control—who can speak to how this has improved their marriage, or other areas of life.

* Woman who can speak to why she did not participate in the “birth control and nonmarital sex will make you free” lifestyle.

* Women who have no moral difficulty with use of contraception but don’t see why religious entities should have to provide it. They like the leaven religious entities bring to society.

* Women who are just sick of the government focus on birth control and abortion to the exclusion of other important issues affecting women, e.g. the ability to afford to have and educate children, preserving marriage, maternity leave policies, and others you care about.

* Women who see religious voices and movements and services as a beautiful contribution to the common good/human rights.

*Woman economists or sociologists who can speak on interaction of birth control and data on women’s well being.

I can’t promise we can train everyone who might be interested. But there’s no doubt we need at least a few dozen women, willing to work on this steadily over the next year to convey the truth of the matter that THE CURRENT SO-CALLED REPRESENTATIVES OF WOMEN DO NO SPEAK FOR ALL OF US.

If you are interested, please write to me at Helen@chiaroscuroinstitute.org with a brief description of yourself and the topic you can comfortably take up.