St Joseph Church Lincoln, NH 03251
Rev. David Kneeland, Pastor
HHS Mandate an Attack on Religious Liberty and Conscience Rights
Support Respect for Rights of Conscience Act
On January 20, 2012, the Obama administration announced it would make no changes to a rule proposed last summer by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") that presents an attack on religious liberty and our right to be free to live by our religious beliefs.
The HHS rule in question requires that virtually all private health plans include coverage of female sterilization procedures, contraceptives and abortifacients as "preventive services," regardless of whether or not the insurer, employer or insured individual has a moral objection to such drugs and procedures. The rule includes a requirement - unprecedented at the federal level - that to qualify for a "religious employer" exemption, the party in question must hire and serve primarily people of its own faith. As our Catholic charitable organizations, schools, and hospitals serve all people regardless of their faith, the rule would apply and would require that we either stop hiring and serving non-Catholics or violate our own religious beliefs by providing insurance coverage for medications and procedures we believe are immoral.
For further information about the HHS rule, visit www.usccb.org.
ACTION:
Support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467). This Act would ensure that those who participate in the health care system "retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions." To write to your representatives in Congress, visit: http://www.nchla.org/ and click on "Action Alert."
Support Respect for Rights of Conscience Act
On January 20, 2012, the Obama administration announced it would make no changes to a rule proposed last summer by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") that presents an attack on religious liberty and our right to be free to live by our religious beliefs.
The HHS rule in question requires that virtually all private health plans include coverage of female sterilization procedures, contraceptives and abortifacients as "preventive services," regardless of whether or not the insurer, employer or insured individual has a moral objection to such drugs and procedures. The rule includes a requirement - unprecedented at the federal level - that to qualify for a "religious employer" exemption, the party in question must hire and serve primarily people of its own faith. As our Catholic charitable organizations, schools, and hospitals serve all people regardless of their faith, the rule would apply and would require that we either stop hiring and serving non-Catholics or violate our own religious beliefs by providing insurance coverage for medications and procedures we believe are immoral.
For further information about the HHS rule, visit www.usccb.org.
ACTION:
Support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467). This Act would ensure that those who participate in the health care system "retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions." To write to your representatives in Congress, visit: http://www.nchla.org/ and click on "Action Alert."