Contact: Karen Malec, Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, 847-421-4000

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Nov. 27, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer applauds the U.S. Supreme Court's announcement that it will review two cases brought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties challenging the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring employers to provide free coverage for contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilizations, regardless of their rights to religious freedom.

Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, said that an amicus brief will be filed by attorneys Nikolas T. Nikas and Dorinda C. Bordlee of the Bioethics Defense Fund to highlight the science showing that the Government has no compelling interest in forcing employers to violate their religious beliefs, especially when the drugs mandated as so-called "women's preventive healthcare" are actually classified by the World Health Organization as "Group 1: Carcinogenic to Humans."

The amicus brief will highlight the reasoning adopted by the influential D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a separate lawsuit against the Obamacare HHS mandate, Francis Gilardi et al. vs. U.S. Health and Human Services.  There, the court expressly cited our amicus brief to support its ruling that the HHS Mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  As stated in the decision by Judge Janice Rogers Brown:

"Equally unconvincing is the government's assertion that the mandate averts 'negative health consequences for both the woman and the developing fetus.' From the outset, we note the science is debatable and may actually undermine the government's cause. For the potential mother, as one amicus notes, the World Health Organization classifies certain oral contraceptives as carcinogens, marked by an increased risk for breast, cervical and liver cancers...."
 

"We are pleased our brief will bring attention to the significantly increased risks for breast, cervical and liver cancers associated with use of these hormonal steroids," asserted Malec.

The amicus brief will also represent the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute under the direction of Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, MD, and the Polycarp Institute under the direction of Dr. Chris Kahlenborn, MD.

For more information, including links to our amicus brief in the DC Circuit, links to the full DC Circuit decision, and a fact sheet with citations to international studies documenting the many increased risks of artificial contraceptive drugs, go to www.bdfund.org/reply-blog?p=959.

The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is an international women's organization founded to protect the health and save the lives of women by educating and providing information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer. www.abortionbreastcancer.com