FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2013
Contact: Mallory Quigley, 202-223-8073
Coalition of 30+ Groups Demand Congress Include Protections in Any “Must-Pass” Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A pro-life coalition today launched a national www.Call2Conscience.com campaign to urge Congress to include language to protect conscience rights in any upcoming continuing resolutions to fund the government. The coalition, led by the national pro-life Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), includes more than 30 national and statewide groups who disagree with the Obama Administration’s abortion-inducing drug mandate. The coalition website features a grassroots action center where people of faith and conscience can contact their representatives.
“There must be no religious ‘test’ by the government as to who, and what type of entities, are entitled to a conscience. We demand respect for non-religious entities such as the Susan B. Anthony List that recognize the taking of human life is the antithesis of health care. Congress must act immediately to ensure the right of citizens to be free from government compulsion of this most fundamental issue.” – Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List
“The so-called HHS Mandate ‘opt-out’ is not really an opt-out when only some of the prisoners of conscience are released while the rest are kept hostage. Organizations and employers like Hobby Lobby and even human rights organizations like Students for Life of America are still being forced to provide abortion pills to employees. The First Amendment applies to ALL Americans, not just the select few the Obama Administration decides to give exemptions to. We must enact comprehensive conscience protections immediately to ensure our rights are upheld.” – Kristan Hawkins, President, Students for Life of America
“It was the Obama Administration that decided access to abortifacients, sterilization and contraception trumped the conscience rights of American citizens. Congress is the last line of defense for religious liberty and they need to pass strong conscience legislation today.” – Tom McClusky, Vice President for Government Affairs, Family Research Council
“Since the Obama Administration continues to callously trample Americans’ religious liberties, we call on Congress to boldly act to protect our convictions by including conscience legislation in any must-pass legislation to fund the government. When Americans are forced to deny their deeply held religious convictions, it is not called ‘balance,’ it’s called ‘tyranny.” – Penny Nance, President & CEO, Concerned Women for America
This effort comes on the heels of a nationwide postcard campaign launched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as well as a letter to Congress written by Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chair of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty. In his letter, Archbishop Lori urged Congress to protect religious liberty and conscience in any funding legislation and expressed his disappointment with the Obama Administration’s recent proposed changes to the HHS Mandate.
As the Affordable Care Act is implemented, some former Members of Congress are publicly lamenting their vote for it, which cost them their job during the 2010 midterm elections. Both former Representatives Bart Stupak and Kathy Dahlkemper have decried the fact that with the HHS Mandate, President Obama violated the abortion funding “compromise” they thought they had secured.
The Susan B. Anthony List, and its affiliated Political Action Committees, the SBA List Candidate Fund and Women Speak Out PAC, are dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. The SBA List is a network of more than 365,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.
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