Understand that every
Catholic bishop, regardless or their political leanings, has condemned the
anti-Constitutional position taken by the Imperialist Obama, in forcing
the abolition of conscience and crossing the line when it comes to the
separation of church and state -- blog editor.
The
text of the letter follows:
Dear President Obama:
The undersigned pastors and Christian leaders
all write to raise serious concerns over what some have called the
“contraception mandate” stemming from the action of Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on August 1st, 2010 to mandate
that all health insurance plans in the individual and group market cover all
FDA approved “contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures,” including
abortifacient drugs and other devices that can destroy life in its early
stages.
This mandate was not necessary, nor warranted
under the provision of “preventive care services for women” contained in the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Worse still is the fact that the
mandate essentially ignores the conscience rights of many Catholic and
Protestant Americans. Our country was founded on certain freedoms, the first of
which is the freedom of religion. The ability of a religious person to follow
their conscience without fearing government intervention has long been a
protected right for Americans. It is unfathomable to picture a country that
would deny religious freedoms.
On August 1, 2011, your Administration
granted a narrow exemption that only covers houses of worship. However, the
fact remains that the vast majority of religious organizations will be required
to choose either to violate their consciences or drop their health coverage for
employees. This mandate is all the more egregious for including drugs and
devices that are known and scientifically shown to function in ways that can
cause abortions, including varieties of the morning-after-pill, both before and
after implantation. The conscience rights of those who object to such drugs,
let alone object to being forced to cover such drugs, is clearly violated by
the Administration action.
Due to significant opposition to this
mandate, many people of faith hoped that the Administration would chose to
protect the conscience rights of all people who have moral or religious
objections to covering contraceptives and sterilization procedures and
accordingly submitted comments to your Administration totaling over 200,000. In
the face of this outcry, your Administration issued a press release on January
20, 2012 that offers groups only a one year reprieve on being forced to violate
the tenants of their faith. Worse still, the decision includes a new
requirement that all such religious organizations will be required to refer for
that which they find objectionable in the first place.
The contraceptive mandate with the
requirement that there will be no co-pay to the patient means millions of
Americans will incur the additional cost for these drugs and devices. Forcing
religious entities to do the same, despite objections of good conscience, is a
severe blow to our religious liberty. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Virginia Act
for Establishing Religious Freedom in 1779, which passed in 1786, and set the
stage for the First Amendment. In it, Jefferson states: “to compel a man to
furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he
disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.” Consequently, we ask that you would
reverse this decision and protect the conscience rights of those who have
biblically-based opposition to funding or providing contraceptives and
abortifacients.
Respectfully,
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