[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 18 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY REQUIRING CATHOLIC HOSPITALS AND 
     UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE CONTRACEPTION IN EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLANS

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                        HON. TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 3, 2012

  Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong 
opposition to President Obama's administrative rule requiring religious 
institutions that provide health insurance policies to supply coverage 
for medicines and procedures that violate the tenets of their faith.
  Freedom of religion is one of the foundations of our country. 
Famously, in the early days of the Republic, the Vatican requested 
permission of the Continental Congress to appoint a bishop. The 
Congress wisely declined the appointment, recognizing that there was no 
appropriate role for government in the regulation of church activities.
  Now, over 200 years later, the Obama administration wants to roll 
back the clock and make decisions for religious institutions that 
should properly be left to those institutions. People freely associate 
themselves with churches and their affiliated organizations, such as 
hospitals and schools. In doing so, they accept that they will abide by 
the rules of those organizations. The Obama administration has 
uniformly usurped the autonomy of each institution to set those rules 
upon themselves.
  This is a dangerous precedent. It is not difficult to see further 
encroachments by the ``all powerful'' federal government upon the 
rights and privileges of church communities. Will the Department of 
Education begin setting curriculum standards for private religious 
schools? Will the Department of Labor set standards of employment for 
Catholic health facilities? Will the Department of Health and Human 
Services begin requiring end of life counseling that violates the 
teachings of certain religions?
  During the healthcare debate of 2010 and after, assurances were given 
to Members of Congress and to leaders of religious organizations that 
nothing in the bill would or could be used to violate the right of 
conscience of any faithful American. I voted against the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act, in part, because I feared exactly 
this; it is being used as a lever to force values upon the American 
people that are contrary to their own beliefs.
  Let us hope this and future Congresses will work to repeal President 
Obama's takeover of healthcare and, by extension, the conscience of 
individual. Further, let us implement true healthcare reform that 
improves our system, lower costs, and protects the rights of Americans 
to have healthcare coverage that conforms to their values.

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