Alliance of Catholic Health Care Hails Passage of Legislation to Protect Rights of Health Care Providers
The Alliance of Catholic Health Care (“the Alliance”) applauded the House of Representatives for passing legislation today that will provide strong, unambiguous and permanent civil rights conscience protections to health care providers.The bill, H.R. 3 – “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act” – enjoyed strong bipartisan support and passed by a vote of 251 to 175.
“For nearly two decades, various California state agencies have threatened to compel California hospitals and health care workers to violate their consciences by forcing them to perform, participate in, pay for or refer for abortions. If passed by the Senate and signed by the president, H.R. 3 would end this discriminatory practice in California and other states,” said Bill Cox, President & CEO of the Alliance, which represents California's four state-based Catholic health care systems and their 53 hospitals.
"I would like to thank especially House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy for shepherding this important piece of legislation through the House," Cox added
The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) includes important provisions to strengthen existing conscience protections by making them permanent under law and more enforceable. The civil rights protections are similar to those contained in another bill, H.R. 361, the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, which the Alliance strongly supports as well.
"This legislation is urgently needed in many states, particularly here in California as health care providers find themselves under increasingly hostile and intolerant attacks to choose between violating their conscience or giving up their vocation to care for others. No one should be forced to make such a choice," Cox said.
The bill now moves to the Senate.