The Missouri Republican — who is presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s liaison to Congress — said he is looking into joining the challenge to the rule, which requires religiously affiliated hospitals and other institutions, excluding churches, to provide employee health insurance that includes access to contraception.
On Monday, May 21, 2012, 43 Catholic, 43 Catholic dioceses and other religious organizations filed challenges to the rule in all 11 circuits of the federal judicial system, claiming the law violates the Constitution’s religious freedom protections.
The lack of leadership engagement on the contraception issue is not entirely surprising, given the difficulties the party has had with Democrats’ recent accusations that the GOP is engaging in a “war on women.”
So far, Democrats don’t seem particularly interested in rehashing the issue either, with Democratic leaders remaining mum. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who in February called GOP opposition to the rule a “vicious political attack” on women, dismissed the most recent lawsuit out of hand. Still, Blunt predicted the fight is far from over. Noting that all of the circuit courts are facing decisions on the rule’s constitutionality, he predicted the matter would quickly make it to the Supreme Court. “This is not an issue that’s going to go away. ... It’s about religious freedom,” Blunt said. “I’m a Protestant. I don’t have any problem with contraception. I have a problem with the government forcing people who do think it’s wrong participating in it in some way.”
Former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon, MD: “Conscience protections are essential for healthcare professionals, whether on abortion, contraception or other directives that the Administration would attempt to mandate under Obamacare. The latest round of lawsuits by the Catholic church challenging the Administration shows the necessity of vigilantly addressing religious discrimination.“Conscience protections have been on the books for more than 35 years protecting conscience rights for healthcare professionals, especially with regard to abortion. The Church Amendments in the 1970s were passed to protect healthcare professionals with respect to abortion and 'any item or service' they have moral or religious objections to, under certain federally funded programs. In the 1990s, Congress needed to pass an amendment by Senator Dan Coats to prevent government discrimination in federally funded residency programs.
“As I was serving in Congress, we saw such discrimination on the rise, so I authored, and Congress passed in 2004, what became known as the Hyde/Weldon amendment. My amendment protects healthcare professionals from discrimination or coercion regarding abortion in any federally funded health program. Clearly Obamacare usurps those laws by mandating health plans, including religious employer plans, coverage of abortifacients, contraception and sterilization. Congress needs to act to defend conscience rights once again.
“The Administration’s so-called accommodation for religious employers is not an accommodation at all. In fact, it actually attempts to define what a church is in a very narrow and crude manner, by excluding all religious employers but churches. This is an unprecedented federal attack on religious freedom and practice, one that must be repealed.
“The American people should not be told to check their religion and leave it behind the church house doors. Most Americans believe the federal government should not discriminate against those who object to abortion on grounds of conscience. If Congress fails to act, it will have turned its back on the very essence of our founding—religious freedom.”
CMDA Right of Conscience Resource Pages
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