Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
The Becket Fund reports that more than 100 plaintiffs have now joined lawsuits against the federal government as a result of an administration regulation that forces employers to provide insurance for birth control and sterilization even if they object for reasons of conscience. [Becket Fund HHS Page]
The UN Human Rights Commison has issued a document that purports to base the restriction or suppression of freedom of conscience among health care workers on human rights claims. Technical guidance on the application of a human rights based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality. Section 30 of the document calls for changing laws and policies that allow conscientious objection “to hinder women’s access to a full range of services.” Section 61 states that laws, polices and regulations that allow “unregulated conscientious objection” should be changed, and “newly established obligations of providers and rights of individual users should be disseminated.” The resolution was endorsed by New Zealand, Burkina Faso, and Colombia and enumerates access to abortion among “sexual and reproductive health rights.” 20 of the 47 council members opposed the text. The UN General Assembly will consider adopting it later in October. [CFAM]
U.S. District Judge Carole Jackson of St. Louis has dismissed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate brought by Frank O’Brien and his company, O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC of St. Louis. The suit challenged the federal government regulation that requires O’Brien to provide employees with insurance for contraceptives, embryocides and surgical sterilization. A Catholic, O’Brien objects to facilitating any of the services for religious reasons. The judge ruled that the indirect support did not substantially burden the free exercise of O’Brien’s religious beliefs. Lawyer Frank Manion of the American Center for Law and Justice has filed an appeal on behalf of O’Brien. [ACLJ comment][St. Louis-Post Dispatch][Religion Dispatches]
Two pharmacists have won an appeal against a 2005 executive order issued by the Governor of Illinois that required all pharmacies to fill prescriptions for the morning after pill. The appeals court upheld a lower court injunction based on the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
An Illinois appeals court has ruled in favor of two pharmacists who objected to having to provide emergency contraception on religious grounds, setting a precedent their lawyer hopes will protect others from judicial or state sanctions. [San Francisco Chronicle]
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has listed 30 lawsuits pending against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulation that would compel employers to provide insurance for contraception, embryocides and sterilization, despite moral or religious objections.