{"id":490,"date":"2011-08-01T16:51:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T23:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=490"},"modified":"2018-03-05T21:53:20","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T05:53:20","slug":"usccb-hhs-mandate-for-contraceptive-and-abortifacient-drugs-violates-conscience-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=490","title":{"rendered":"USCCB: HHS Mandate for Contraceptive and Abortifacient Drugs Violates Conscience Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/a><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON\u2014The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sharply criticized a new HHS \u201cpreventive services\u201d mandate requiring private health plans to cover female surgical sterilization and all drugs and devices approved by the FDA as contraceptives, including drugs which can attack a developing unborn child before and after implantation in the mother\u2019s womb.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough this new rule<\/a> gives the agency the discretion to authorize a \u2018religious\u2019 exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social service agencies and healthcare providers,\u201d said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, under the new rule our institutions would be free to act in accord with Catholic teaching on life and procreation only if they were to stop hiring and serving non-Catholics,\u201d Cardinal DiNardo continued.\u201cCould the federal government possibly intend to pressure Catholic institutions to cease providing health care, education and charitable services to the general public?Health care reform should expand access to basic health care for all, not undermine that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Administration\u2019s failure to create a meaningful conscience exemption to the preventive services mandate underscores the need for Congress to approve the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act<\/a>,\u201d the Cardinal said.That bill (H.R. 1179), introduced by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Dan Boren (D-OK), would prevent mandates under the new health reform law from undermining rights of conscience.<\/p>\n

Cardinal DiNardo added: \u201cCatholics are not alone in conscientiously objecting to this mandate.The drugs that Americans would be forced to subsidize under the new rule include Ella, which was approved by the FDA as an \u2018emergency contraceptive\u2019 but can act like the abortion drug RU-486. It can abort an established pregnancy weeks after conception. The pro-life majority of Americans \u2013 Catholics and others \u2013 would be outraged to learn that their premiums must be used for this purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHHS says the intent of its \u2018preventive services\u2019 mandate is to help \u2018stop health problems before they start,\u2019 said Cardinal DiNardo. \u201cBut pregnancy is not a disease, and children are not a \u2018health problem\u2019 \u2013 they are the next generation of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s now more vital than ever that Congress pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act<\/a> to close the gaps in conscience protection in the new health care reform act, so employers and employees alike will have the freedom to choose health plans in accordance with their deeply held moral and religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a July 22 letter<\/a> supporting the bill, Cardinal DiNardo wrote: \u201cThose who sponsor, purchase and issue health plans should not be forced to violate their deeply held moral and religious convictions in order to take part in the health care system or provide for the needs of their families or their employees.To force such an unacceptable choice would be as much a threat to universal access to health care as it is to freedom of conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardinal DiNardo also addressed the Institute of Medicine\u2019s recommendations on preventive services for women in a July 19 statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWS RELEASE United States Conference of Catholic Bishops WASHINGTON\u2014The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sharply criticized a new HHS \u201cpreventive services\u201d mandate requiring private health plans to cover female surgical sterilization and all drugs and devices approved by the FDA as contraceptives, including drugs which can attack a developing unborn child before and after … Continue reading “USCCB: HHS Mandate for Contraceptive and Abortifacient Drugs Violates Conscience Rights”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[643,10,28],"tags":[183,2084],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-catholicism","category-news-releases","category-usa","tag-hhs-preventive-services-mandate","tag-us-conference-of-catholic-bishops-usccb"],"yoast_head":"\r\nUSCCB: HHS Mandate for Contraceptive and Abortifacient Drugs Violates Conscience Rights - 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