Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06), a registered nurse and member of the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, presented her bill: the Conscience Protection Act, before a meeting of the House Rules Committee. The legislation is slated to be considered on the House floor tomorrow. To watch a video of Congressman Black’s remarks before the House Rules Committee, click here. A full transcript is provided below:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this urgently needed legislation.
It was our nation’s third President, Thomas Jefferson, who famously said: “No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.
Being an American has always meant experiencing the freedom to live by the dictates of one’s deeply held beliefs at home, at work, and in the public square. After all, if we don’t have a right to abide by our own consciences – particularly on a matter as deeply affecting as abortion – we don’t have much left, do we?
President Obama himself acknowledged this time-honored freedom at a speech to students at Notre Dame University in 2009, saying: “Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion.” Unfortunately, this right is not consistently enforced today, the President’s words notwithstanding.
In 2013, I first met Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo. She, like me, is a registered nurse. Back in 2009, she was forced by her hospital in New York to assist in the abortion of a 22-week preborn baby. The hospital knew her longstanding opposition to abortion, yet threatened her job and her nursing license if she did not take part.
A federal law, known as the Weldon-Amendment, which has been attached to annual appropriations bills since 2004 – bills that Democrats and Republicans on this committee voted for – protects people like Cathy, and any other healthcare entity refusing to provide, pay for, or perform abortions. But, when Cathy filed a complaint, it took the HHS office of civil rights three years to resolve it and affirm her right not to perform an abortion against her will.
While Cathy eventually found a resolution to her case, after her hospital agreed to change its policies, others were not as fortunate.
In August of 2014, the Department of Managed Healthcare in California issued a mandate requiring that all insurance plans under their authority, including those offered by churches and Christian universities, must include coverage for elective abortion. Churches and pro-life organizations across the state pleaded with the HHS office of civil rights to enforce the law and protect their conscience rights – but, after a nearly two year investigation, their requests were denied. Now, other states are following suit; New York being the latest state to enact an abortion mandate of its own.
Congress needs to act.
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee: We talk a lot about the supposed “right to choose” in matters of abortion. That’s a phrase that some of you on this committee use with great frequency. But what about the other right to choose – the right to choose not to be a forced partner in a practice that goes against everything you believe? That is what my bill would protect.
Many of you know me well, and you know that I wear my pro-life convictions on my sleeve. But take note: this legislation doesn’t change the legality of abortion in any way. It does not speak to matters of birth control and contraceptives. And it does not change doctors’ and hospitals’ responsibilities to pregnant women in life threatening situations.
This is a modest, reasonable bill to protect Americans’ conscience rights and provide a civil right of action so that victims can have their day in court when those rights are trampled.
I urge you to heed the words of President Jefferson – and, for that matter, President Obama – and pass this compassionate bill to ensure these most foundational rights are respected and upheld.
Thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yu_Fg0ZMpM&feature=youtu.be
