A number of US Catholic bishops have said they would be willing to go to jail over a controversial health mandate that forces religious employers to put their employees in insurance schemes that among other things, provide free abortion-inducing drugs.

The controversial Health and Human Services mandate was brought in under the Obama Administration’s healthcare law. It obliges employers to enrol workers in insurance plans that cover abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives, and sterilisations.

American bishops have said this is an attack on religious freedom given the Church’s stance on this issue.

US bishops who spoke to website Lifesitenews after last Friday’s March for Life in Washington D.C. said they intended to do everything they can to oppose the mandate, including risking imprisonment if necessary.

“I would be willing to go to jail in defence of religious liberty,” said Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette, Michigan, who was appointed Archbishop of Portland, Oregon earlier this month.

He stressed that the bishops are exploring all of the options with the assistance of “sound moral theologians” to “see what is the most practical but effective way to oppose the mandate”.

“We will not simply roll over and accept the mandate,” he insisted. “We have to fight for our religious liberty and we’ll take it as far as we can.”

Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh also said he is willing to go to jail if need be. “We can’t compromise on the principles,” he told LifeSiteNews.

“[A]ll we have to do is look back at our history. Take a look at the saints who defended our faith and that’s what it’s about,” he said.

“We have to be strong, we can’t compromise, we have to stay firm on our values because I believe that this is a slippery slope,” he continued. “This is a point where we have to be ready to maintain a stand. I’ve taken a very strong stand on this position ever since all of this began over a year ago, and I don’t intend to back down.”

Archbishop Samuel Aquila, the recently installed bishop of Denver, told LifeSiteNews after the Vigil Mass that he and many other bishops will simply refuse to cooperate if the government tries to force their hand.

“Certainly we as bishops are still considering what the options will be if it does go through,” he explained. “Many of us have already stated that we will not and cannot cooperate with the mandate.”

“There will be implications on it, whether it means narrowing some of what we do, or continue what we do and not cooperate with the mandate,” he added. “But it’s a very real concern and grave concern in terms of religious freedom and freedom of conscience.”

Archbishop Aquila encouraged lay Catholics who are threatened by the mandate to follow the bishops’ lead, noting that Denver has a Catholic-owned company, Hercules Industries, that was one of the first to file suit against the Obama administration.

“I just really try to encourage Catholics: stay strong, stay firm, and continue to do what you’re doing,” he said. “Continue to fight, because we as bishops can only do so much and it’s going to be important for the laity to follow and to respond.”

Presently, there are a series of lawsuits pending against the mandate, including religious liberty suits by 43 Catholic dioceses and organisations.