WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing, "Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?" The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), popularly known as "Obamacare" includes a "contraceptive mandate," which will force all insurance plans to include abortifacient drugs such as ella and Plan B with no cost sharing.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080930/FRCLOGO)
Family Research Council (FRC) submitted a statement thanking Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) for holding the hearing and expressing strong opposition to the mandate and the extremely narrow conscience protections.
Jeanne Monahan, Director of FRC's Center for Human Dignity, made the following comments:
"We applaud Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) for holding a Congressional hearing on this unprecedented mandate and conscience rights violation. The contraceptive mandate flies in the face of long-standing conscience protection norms and statutes while acquiescing to the demands of extreme proponents of contraception, sterilization and abortion.
"FRC strongly opposes this mandate because all health plans will be forced to cover abortifacient drugs and devices. The required inclusion of 'the full range of FDA-approved contraceptives and sterilization procedures' in health plans will violate the consciences of millions of Americans who object morally to these drugs and devices.
"This coercive move on the part of the Obama administration is not only bad health policy, but also conflicts directly with several federal conscience protection laws in so far as it mandates the use of drugs that have abortifacient properties."
To read FRC's statement, click here: http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF11K02.pdf
SOURCE Family Research Council