The issue of religious freedom has never been more urgent as we face a significant challenge to longstanding values and principles held by many communities across our nation. The Biden-era Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced new regulations that threaten the sanctity of life and impose strictures on institutions with deep roots in faith-based care.

These mandates require religious hospitals, clinics, and other health-care facilities to provide abortion services, despite their moral objections. The implications are profound: it means that these establishments must forsake their founding principles and compromise the sacred trust they have built within local communities.

We were not designed for this kind of intrusion into our spiritual lives and health care choices. What God provided was a system where individuals could seek out healing without compromising their deepest convictions.

This move is an affront to the natural order, a clear sign that something has gone awry in the relationship between government and faith-based institutions. As I've counseled many families through moments of crisis, it’s these very facilities they turn to for support and guidance — now those same places are being forced to provide services that go against their core beliefs.

What can we do when the fabric of our moral community is under threat? Where will we find solace in a time of such upheaval?

A member of my congregation recently shared her struggle. She works at one of these faith-based hospitals and feels torn between serving those who come to her for help and staying true to her convictions. It's a painful reality that many are grappling with.

It’s time we stand together and make our voices heard, protecting the freedoms enshrined in both scripture and law. The sanctity of life is under attack; it is up to us to defend it.