Dear All,
The following information was sent to all Catholic Medical Association members. If you do not belong to the CMA maybe you should. We have a battle to fight.
Marci Moffitt, MD
President, Catholic Medical Association
Obama Administration Attacks . . . Again; Catholic Medical Association and the Bishops Respond
In a follow up to its October attack on a successful program run by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Obama administration launched an unprecedented assault, not only on every Catholic institution in America, but also on the religious liberty American citizens have enjoyed since the Founding.
In a press release dated Jan. 20, 2012, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the HHS mandate forcing all insurance plans and providers to offer and completely subsidize all FDA-approved contraceptives (including abortifacients classified as "emergency" contraception), sterilizations, and reproductive counseling would be enforced against all religious institutions that do not meet her very narrow definition of "religious employers." This will include all Catholic schools, universities, hospitals, and social service agencies just for starters. Catholic institutions were given an additional year to come into compliance with the new rule.
The CMA responded immediately with a strong statement of condemnationand a call for Catholics and all people of good will to join together to overturn this malicious mandate. USCCB President Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan and hundreds of other religious bodies also issued similar statements.
Analysis:
- As the CMA has noted in several statements in the course of 2011as HHS prepared to craft and announce its mandate, this "preventive services" rule constitutes bad logic (in defining pregnancy as a disease to be prevented); bad medicine (in holding that providing oral contraceptives and sterilization will enhance women's health); and bad public policy (in thinking that this strategy will prevent unplanned pregnancies, lower health-care costs, etc.).
- Apart from the mandate itself, the decision to impose this requirement even on institutions which have an ethical objection to providing contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacients is an unprecedented attack on the Catholic Church and on religious freedom more generally. Never in our history has the federal government demanded that private insurance plans include benefits that violate an institution's conscience.
- Finally, one condition of the 1-year delay granted to Catholic institutions by HHS is that these institutions tell their employees where such proscribed services can be obtained. This attempt to compel speech, and make Catholic institutions complicit in the referral process, is a violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
- Finally, it is important to remember that this entire effort is ultimately an attack on the rights of all citizens, for all of us as individuals will be forced pay, with our premium dollars, to subsidize these unethical services.
There are, then, many levels on which this mandate is wrong. The fact that HHS went ahead and imposed it, despite thousands of comments and direct communication with the USCCB, demonstrates the Obama administration's complete lack of regard for religious freedom and/or an animus toward the Catholic Church.
Action Steps:
There are several important action steps CMA members should be taking immediately:
Perhaps the most important action step is to contact one's Congressmen and Senatorsand ask them to co-sponsor the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179 in the House and S. 1467 in the Senate). A growing list of co-sponsors will show support and result in a favorable vote. - Educate and motivate your family, peers, friends, and neighbors with explanations as to why this assault on the Catholic Church and religious liberty is dangerous and must be overturned. Write "letters to the editor" and participate in signature campaigns.
- Pray and sacrifice so that this decision is overturned. Support the bishops, and are now leading impressively on this issue many of whom have issued strong statements
CMA members should realize that this mandate is only a first step. Now that these preventive services have been mandated, it will not take long for the federal government to declare that all physicians and health care providers must perform or refer for them. Copy www.cathmed.org and send it to Catholic physicians you know. Encourage them to join the CMA so that we can fight this mandate more effectively!!