WASHINGTON–Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of
New York, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee
on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, chair of
the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, offered the following joint
statement in response to the creation of a new Division on Conscience and
Religious Freedom within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Office for Civil Rights and other related administrative actions:

“We applaud HHS for its significant
actions to protect conscience rights and religious freedom. For more than
forty years—dating back to the Church amendment of 1973—Congress has enacted
federal laws protecting rights of conscience in health care. We are
grateful that HHS is taking seriously its charge to protect these fundamental
civil rights through formation of a new division dedicated to protecting
conscience rights and religious freedom. For too long, we have seen
medical professionals, including pro-life nurses like Cathy DeCarlo, who have
been coerced by their employers into participating in abortion. And we
have seen states like California, New York, and Oregon demand that even
religious organizations cover elective abortions in their health plans. These
violations of federal law require a remedy from HHS.

We are pleased to see HHS’s proposed
regulation to enforce civil rights laws to protect Americans involved in
HHS-funded programs, and we look forward to filing more detailed public
comments on this proposal. We also appreciate the Administration’s action
to rescind a 2016 guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
that required states to provide Medicaid funding to family planning providers
like Planned Parenthood that perform abortions.

Conscience protection should not be
subject to political whims, however. Permanent legislative relief is
essential. We urge Congress to pass the Conscience Protection Act in
order to give victims of discrimination the ability to defend their rights in
court. No one should be forced to violate their deeply held convictions
about the sanctity of human life.”

A list of current federal laws protecting
conscience rights can be found here: https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/upload/Federal-Conscience-Laws.pdf

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Keywords:
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, USCCB, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, conscience,
religious freedom, religious liberty

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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops