Congresswoman Diane Black Introduces Legislation to Protect Conscience

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the national pro-life Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), praised Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) for introducing H.R. 940, the Health Care Conscience Rights Act (HCCRA), to defend conscience rights. To date, SBA List activists have sent more than 60,700 messages to Congress demanding legislative action to protect the freedom of conscience and religious liberty against the HHS Mandate.

“On behalf of all Americans of conscience, we applaud Representative Black for her bold leadership in defense of our most basic freedoms,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The so-called accommodations recently announced to the HHS Mandate do nothing to address the concerns of non-religious entities and employers who do not wish to be complicit in the destruction of life through abortion-inducing drugs. Congress must act immediately to pass the Health Care Conscience Rights Act and ensure the conscience rights of all Americans are protected.”

Led by the SBA List, more than 50 national and statewide groups recently launched the Call2Conscience.com coalition to mobilize grassroots in response to the assault on conscience and religious liberty.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans were mobilized last week to urge Congress to include language to defend conscience and religious liberty in any must-pass funding legislation.

Rep. Diane Black previously joined leaders of the Call2Conscience.com coalition on a live webcast to discuss congressional efforts to defend conscience rights. The coalition effort complements the nationwide postcard campaign recently 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.

Photo Credit: U.S. Corps of Engineers Nashville District via Flickr (CC-By-ND 3.0)