[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16788-16789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           CONSCIENCE RIGHTS

  (Mr. FORTENBERRY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

[[Page 16789]]


  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, the Department of Health and Human 
Services recently proposed a rule that would require all health plans 
to cover in full and, consequently, every American to subsidize 
procedures and drugs that are unrelated to medical necessity, 
traditionally considered electives, and can be very ethically divisive 
for many Americans. Why when 75 cents on every public health care 
dollar is spent on the management of chronic conditions, such as 
cancer, heart disease, and stroke, is the Health and Human Services 
Department prioritizing free sterilization, for instance?
  This is distinctly unrelated to our Nation's health care priority 
challenges. I can only conclude that this is ideologically driven and 
most perniciously affects faith-based institutions who are the backstop 
of compassionate care for the poorest and most vulnerable in society. 
Many Republicans and Democrats have expressed very serious concerns 
about this. No American should be forced to choose between their faith 
and their job.

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