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 urge the faithful to flood Congress with emails
and calls asking for enactment of the Conscience Protection Act as part of the
2018 funding bill and to pray for this outcome. Congress is currently
considering whether to include the Conscience Protection Act in must-pass
government funding legislation, and a decision on the Conscience Protection
Act’s inclusion will be made prior to March 23, 2018.

The joint statement
follows:

“Increasing and
fierce attacks on conscience rights regarding abortion cry out for an immediate
remedy. Nurses and other health care providers and
institutions are being forced to choose between participating in abortions or leaving
health care altogether. Churches and pro-life Americans are being forced to
provide coverage for elective abortions—including late-term abortions—in their
health care plans. Opponents and supporters of abortion should be able to agree
that no one should be forced to participate in abortion. Congress must remedy
this problem by enacting the Conscience Protection Act now as part of the FY
2018 funding bill.

We call on all
the faithful to pray and to act by emailing and calling Congress in the coming
week especially on Monday, March 12 with the message that enacting the
Conscience Protection Act is urgently needed to protect Americans from being
forced to violate their deeply held convictions about respect for human life. Your
calls and emails to your Members of Congress really do make a difference, so
please act now to protect conscience rights!”

Please contact your Members of
Congress by visiting Human Life Action,
a project of the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (NCHLA), at: https://www.humanlifeaction.org/take-action?vvsrc=/campaigns/49865/respond.

The USCCB has also created a video
available on its YouTube channel and Facebook.com/USCCB.

Visit the homepage of the Secretariat of Pro-life Activities for more information on the USCCB’s pro-life work.

—
Keywords:
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Archbishop
Joseph E. Kurtz, Committee for Religious Liberty, Conscience Protection
Act (H.R.
644), FY 2018 funding bill, Human Life Action, Members of Congress, U.S.
House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, pro-life, abortion, conscience rights,
medical profession, nurses, health care providers,
integrity,
Hippocratic oath

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Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops