Obama Tone Deaf to Religious Freedom, Pseudo-Compromise Still Violates Conscience Rights

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Obama administration made another attempt at placating the millions of Americans who have moral and religious objections to being forced to cover or pay for contraceptive services. This mandate, issued in August, includes drugs that work after conception to destroy life rather than prevent it. The January 20th decision to grant a one year delay and add a referral requirement showed that the administration had no intention of providing conscience protections but wanted to defuse the political problem.

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Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had the following to say:

"This revised HHS mandate does nothing to change the fundamentally anti-religious, anti-conscience and anti-life contraceptive mandate.  It rather only creates some paperwork gimmicks that don't change the fact that religious employers who object to coverage of these services will now have to drop health insurance altogether to maintain their conscience and face severe penalties for doing so.

"This President is tone deaf to the very real religious and moral objections of millions of Americans. The so-called one year delay last month was a clear slap in the face of religious groups, and this new proposal still requires religious entities that are not exempt as a church to subsidize and pay insurance companies so they can give free birth control to their employees.  However, it won't be free, because the insurance companies will increase the premium and administrative costs to the employer.

"This new gimmick forces religious entities to violate their religious beliefs and continues to show a complete disdain for the First Amendment. There is no compromise if a single American citizen is required to violate his or her conscience.  Liberals say keep your morals out of the bedroom, yet the President's plan forces everyone to pay the cost for someone else's contraceptive use in the bedroom. That's not freedom, it's a mandate.

"The President and his senior counselors have run into an immovable wall of truth which is fixed and absolute.  No political machinations they attempt will surmount the unshakeable religious and moral convictions of those of us opposing this government order. We urge Congress to pass the Fortenberry/Blunt bi-partisan 'Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011.'"

SOURCE Family Research Council