Meanwhile, Back in the USA, the HHS Mandate Fight Continues…

It’s kind of hard to tear ourselves away from all of the historic goings-on in Vatican City. But just as the angels asked folks why they were standing around looking up at the sky after Jesus ascended into heaven, so too must we get back to the task of fighting for our freedom to follow the teachings of His Church.

The Associated Press shot out a blurb sized note regarding how a Federal judge in Missouri struck down a law approved by that state which would contradict the HHS Mandate.

A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law because it conflicts with a federal mandate for insurers to cover birth control at no additional cost to women. Judge Audrey G. Fleissig of Federal District Court, who issued a temporary restraining order against the law last year, cited the provision in the Constitution declaring that federal laws take precedence over contradictory state laws. Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature overrode the veto of the Democratic governor last September to enact the law, which appeared to be the first to directly challenge the Obama administration’s contraception policy. The law required insurers to issue policies without contraception coverage if individuals or employers objected because of religious or moral beliefs.

And you thought I was joking with that photograph of 3-D chess from Star Trek.

A word for the wise: Those who issue temporary restraining orders can lift them just as fast as moving  the queen to queen’s level 3.

Howard Friedman, Professor of Law Emeritus University of Toledo, has more on the development above. For a refresher on all that has gone on while we’ve been thinking of less worldly things, head over to HHS Central at the Becket Fund to back up to speed.

Stay recollected, but remember that the game is afoot! Peter Kirsanow of National Review reminds us that,

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a public hearing next week on recent developments involving the intersection of religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws. The hearing will take place on Friday March 22, at 9:30 a.m. at the Commission’s headquarters, located at 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

Witnesses will address, among other things, the HHS mandate, the implications ofChristian Legal Society v. Martinez and Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, and religious-liberty claims under First Amendment provisions other than the religion clauses.

Keep praying.