Please Pray for Religious Liberties Cases before the Supreme Court Today

Today the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments for two cases that will have far-reaching implications for our religious freedom: Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius.

I’d like to ask for you to please pray about these cases – but before I go into specific prayer requests, I want to share a bit about why they're so important.

Both cases have to do with objections the families who own these for-profit companies have to certain contraception requirements found in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Under Obamacare, companies are required to fully pay for all forms of contraception. And that’s the problem. “All forms” include emergency contraceptives like Plan B or the “morning after pill” that can end a human life after conception takes place.

That requirement is a non-starter for Hobby Lobby’s Green family and Conestoga Wood Specialities’ Hahn family. It’s no secret the Greens and the Hahns run their businesses according to their faiths. And in both cases, the families’ faith tells them it’s wrong to take a human life. Yet the only other option the government is providing these families is to pay exorbitant fines that would put them out of business – in other words, the Greens and Hahns are being forced to choose between their livelihood or their faith.

No American family should have to make such a decision. Our First Amendment was designed to protect our God-given right to live out our faith. That’s why these cases are so vitally important to not just Christians, but to believers of all faiths. Is faith something that is confined to our places of worship – or is it something that we live out every day, in all aspects of our lives?

So today I ask you – please set aside some time to pray for the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties cases today.

• Please pray for the justices who are hearing the arguments today. Pray that God would help them see the far-reaching ramifications their decisions would ultimately have on faith in America.
• Pray for the lawyers who will be arguing before the Court. Pray that God would give them wisdom, peace and the ability to clearly articulate their cases.
• Finally, keep the Green family and the Hahn family in your prayers. Can you imagine the pressure they must feel at a time like this? These families are putting their companies and years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice on the line for their faith. They are standing up for their conviction that all human life is precious in God’s eyes. Please pray God will strengthen them and help them endure.

Both the Greens and the Hahns are friends of Focus on the Family. They’ve been supportive of our efforts to help families thrive. I’m glad to now support their stand for biblical values and religious liberty. We applaud their courage and thank them.

We are expecting the Supreme Court to announce its decision in mid- to late-June. You can learn more about the Hobby Lobby case by visiting The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. To learn more about the Conestoga Wood Specialties case, visit Alliance Defending Freedom.

I'm also including two videos that serve as an introduction to the families behind the headlines. If you're visiting from a mobile device, you can watch the video on the Green family here, and the Hahn family here.

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