Questions Raised About Obama’s Day of Prayer Declaration

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Some of the wording in President Barack Obama’s declaration regarding today’s National Day of Prayer may puzzle those who have been fighting a White House dictate on contraceptives, some of which sometimes cause abortions.

In his declaration, Obama notes that America “protects the religious freedom of all people to pray, worship, or abstain according to the dictates of their conscience.”

But in Nebraska, the Obama Justice Department has asked a judge to dismiss a legal challenge to a new federal rule that would require contraception coverage for employees of church-affiliated hospitals, schools, and outreach programs. Churches that operate such facilities have argued they should not be forced to provide contraceptives and other abortion-inducing chemicals because doing so goes against the dictates of their conscience. Attorneys general from seven states filed the lawsuit.