In Sharp Rebuke to Obama Administration, U.S. House Votes to Protect Health Care Providers From State-mandated Abortion

By Dave Andrusko
National Right to Life

Last night, National Right to Life “commended Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives for winning passage of a bill to protect health care providers from the growing threat of state-government attempts to coerce participation in abortion.” The near straight party line vote–virtually all Republicans voting for the Conscience Protection Act and virtually all Democrats against–was 245-182.

That 182 members of the House opposed a law that does no more than end discrimination against people, plans, and providers who choose not to be involved in abortion speaks volumes about just how radically anti-life the Democratic Party has become.

“State agencies in California and New York are mandating insurance coverage of abortion, and the Obama Administration recently made it clear that it will not enforce federal laws that prohibit such mandates,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The Conscience Protection Act will allow direct access to the federal courts for the victims of coercive pro-abortion government policies.”

As explained by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the bill passed by the House “says that the Federal Government or any state or local government that receives federal assistance may not penalize, retaliate against or otherwise discriminate against those who do not perform, refer for, pay for or otherwise participate in abortion. Additionally, the Conscience Protection Act protects providers from being forced to participate in abortion by providing a private right of action in the courts.”

Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, added,

The Obama Administration’s refusal to enforce the civil right of conscience is not only unfair and unjustified—it grossly violates the rule of law. It makes a mockery of President Obama’s 2009 Notre Dame speech in which he said ‘Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion.’ But he has not.
In an unconscionable abuse of power, for almost two years the state of California has forced all insurance plans under its purview—and the people and institutions that pay the premiums—to subsidize abortion on demand.

The Weldon federal conscience law authored by Congressman Dave Weldon of Florida and continuously in effect for over a decade—makes it explicit and comprehensively clear that California’s action is illegal.

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