Pro-Abortion Fingerprints on HHS Mandate

ACLJ.org ^ | Feb. 16, 2012 | Jay Sekulow

[Salvation]

Pro-Abortion Fingerprints on HHS Mandate

Jay Sekulow Filed in:
ObamaCare

3:28 PM Feb. 16, 2012

 

Here's a shocker. In drafting the infamous contraception regulation, and the subsequent compromise, there apparently was little or no input from the pro-life community, but plenty of guidance from the pro-abortion crowd. Amazing.

As you know, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its mandate, requiring religious institutions, such as religious schools and hospitals, to include abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception in their insurance policies for employees. A so-called "accommodation" was then issued. The fact is both the mandate and compromise violate the deeply held religious beliefs of millions of Americans.

In testimony before a Congressional panel, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) questioned HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who admitted that she never sought the input of Catholic Bishops, who opposed the mandate and the so-called "accommodation" announced days later.

"I did not speak to the Catholic bishops," Sebelius said. But when pressed about whether pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL participated in advance, Sebelius said she would "assume some of those groups were talked to."

It's worth watching this exchange by Sen. Hatch, a stalwart defender of religious freedom, and Sebelius, who admitted the measure was never reviewed or analyzed by attorneys at the Justice Department. You can view it here.

So, Sebelius assumes the pro-abortion groups were consulted in advance. It turns out that it's more than just an assumption. LifeNews is reporting that a pro-life group has discovered that the committee that made the recommendation to the Obama Administration concerning the flawed mandate was dominated by pro-abortion organizations. Members of Planned Parenthood. NARAL. National Organization of Women.

Disappointing, but not surprising.

This revelation comes as testimony on Capitol Hill continued today about this troubling measure that violates the First Amendment's Free Exercise of Religion Clause as well as the conscience rights of millions of Americans. Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Gastonia, North Carolina, called the measure a "morally objectionable" mandate. As the college president put it: "We’re not trying to enforce our beliefs on anybody . . . What we’re asking is that we’re not coerced into violating our beliefs."

More than 60,000 Americans already have signed on to our petition to demand that this mandate and compromise be reversed. You can add your name now.

[Salvation]

**In drafting the infamous contraception regulation, and the subsequent compromise, there apparently was little or no input from the pro-life community, but plenty of guidance from the pro-abortion crowd. Amazing.**

NOT pretty -- even in pink!

[Salvation]

*8In drafting the infamous contraception regulation, and the subsequent compromise, there apparently was little or no input from the pro-life community, but plenty of guidance from the pro-abortion crowd. Amazing.**

Ping for action. (Link in the article to sign pro-life petition.)

[FlingWingFlyer]

This began with the Komen/Planned Parenthood cat fight. This whole fiasco was orchestrated right from the beginning. The abortion crowd was trying to convince the voters that they should love Planned Parenthood and abortion. It appears as though they may have pulled it off with the help of their toadies in the state controlled MSM. When it comes to the voters in this country, you can’t fix stupid.

[Servant of the Cross]

AND ... A Closer Look At The 'Nun' Who Swayed 0bama: The Little Sisters of Limonsine Liberalism (this is who 0bama/Sebelius consult with for a 'catholic' perspective ...)

[Mrs. Don-o]

It scorches me, as well, that the USCCB has decided to treat this as something that primarily impacts a small subset of institutions --- the schools, hospitals, social services, etc. that have “Catholic” or “Saint” or "Notre" in their 501(c)(3) names --- when it in fact impacts every employer: every Catholic, Christian or Jewish, Mormon or Muslim, believing or non-believing employer, many of whom have conscientious objections.

Do only Bishops have consciences?

Not only that. It socks every person legally resident in the United States, as of 2014 when the whole mandatory-for-everybody program kicks in.

This is why the whole Obamacare package was wrong from the git-go--- wrong in principle, even if Obama himself were out of the picture --- because it violates subsidiarity. And that is not an optional principle.

We have handed our free institutions over to the State, and the Bishops have been asking for this since the NCWC (predecessor to the USCCB) first endorsed national health insurance in 1917.

I told my bishop this would happen 5 years ago. Wouldn’t listen. I told Richard Doerflinger, a very, VERY good man, a man I sincerely love and admire at the USCCB, who lobbied hard, and in his official capacity, for this “Health Care Reform.” Wouldn’t listen.

Now they’ve got it, good and hard.

A lot of us could see it coming.

[Salvation]

BREAKING: Every Single Bishop Has Condemned the Obama/HHS Mandate!

[Mercat]

I’ve done the Komen 3day 60 mile walk twice now and had signed up to do it a third time when the whole “catfight” broke. I’ll still walk and I’ll still train with my team who are a mix of folks but mostly apolitical. But I’m 99% decided to do the Avon walk instead - only two days with less money to raise and my favorite part - if you go to their website, they link you to the organizations that receive their grants. I wandered around in those websites for awhile and couldn’t find anything connected to PP or other pro abort organizations although since all money is fungible, I’m sure that there’s a link somewhere. But now I can tell my donors that they can explore that issue whereas Komen gives you nothing in that regard.

[savedbygrace]

Sebelius is famously pro-abortion.

[TexasBud]

In a way this makes sense. When you’re talking about writing legislation to require something, you don’t need to talk to groups that oppose it. They won’t have anything to offer about how to write the legislation. They simply oppose it. But if you want guidane in how to word the legislation, you would speak with people or groups are knowledgeable about how the service/drug is used, to make sure you worded it right. I don’t know if Planned Parenthood would be the group I’d go to. I’d probably choose a few OBGYN doctors. I don’t know what NARAL is.

You know, at first I was totally opposed to the contraception thing - on the grounds of cost, not religion. I also didn’t like forcing the insurers for Cath. hospitals to provide it, for ethical and moral reasons. But after I’ve read up on it, I understand it more. I still don’t like the cost aspect. It’s an elective drug and usu. not taken for medical reasons. And the cost will be HUGE. But for Catholic institutions, if you’re going to go into business and accept funds from teh govt., you do have to abide by the laws. Contraception is legal, is being required to be covered by ins., so it’s a lot like the labor laws, worker safety laws, and the like. Those same ins. cos. cover vasectomies, even when used for contraception, and viagra, which is very much an elective drug and costly to us all.

[savedbygrace]

Before ObamaCare, if I wanted to pay for medical insurance but didn’t want to pay for abortions, I could practice due diligence and NOT choose a company that paid for abortion. (Are there any that pay for abortion? I don’t know.)

Once ObamaCare kicks in, I won’t be able to make that choice.

That is one of the reasons I think it’s a tyrannical move by the administration.

[RedMDer]

Tired of the disruptions?

[DuncanWaring]

And the guy in the bottom-left corner of the picture is thinking to himself “Heh, heh, heh, pro-choice chicks are easy, and I don’t have to worry about child-support.”.

[DuncanWaring]

Actually, all the guys, probably.

[Salvation]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2848343/posts?page=6#6

I think many are looking at this from the point of losing religious freedom.

[Salvation]

But you are so correct! The Bishops of the past 40 years basically ignored Humanae Vitae.

The Bishops of today are having to the answer for the neglect of this life principle from the previous generaltion bishops.

[Salvation]

And she has been excommunicated by her local bishop.

[Salvation]

This is a constitutional issue. I believe it will be struck down.

[wagglebee]

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