Conscience Protection Act of 2016

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. BLACK. I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee, my colleague and my friend.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, S. 304, the Conscience Protection Act of 2016.

This legislation would prevent governments from penalizing or in any way discriminating against a healthcare provider for its refusing to participate in an abortion. In doing so, it would codify an act, known as the Weldon amendment, which has been attached to the annual spending bill since 2004 with bipartisan support. Importantly, the bill would also take the law a step further in allowing for a civil right of action so that the victims of abortion discrimination would have their day in court.

Today, if you believe you have been discriminated against on the basis of refusing to be involved in an abortion, you appeal to the Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services.

In the case of Cathy DeCarlo, a pro-life nurse from New York who was forced by her employer to assist in the abortion of a 22-week pre-born baby, it took HHS 3 years to close its investigation into her case.

In California, where the Department of Managed Health Care required all insurance plans in the State to offer the coverage of elective abortion, the HHS took 2 years to determine that no violation of the law had occurred; this despite the fact that the churches and the Christian universities are now required to subsidize abortion through their insurance plans.

Congress must step in to clarify and to strengthen our laws so that the conscience rights of every American are protected, because, Madam Speaker, if we lose the right to live according to our own convictions, particularly on the matter as deeply affecting as abortion, we don't have much left, do we?

After all, it was Thomas Jefferson who reminded us: ``No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of civil authority.''

President Obama, himself, echoed this statement in 2009, saying, ``Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion.''

If my colleagues won't listen to the pleas of the pro-life Americans who are asking for the protection of these most basic rights, maybe they will listen to the words of their own President.

With this bill, I am not seeking to change anyone's mind on abortion; though I hope that one day I can. I am not asking my colleagues to rule anyone's abortion to be illegal; though every act of abortion absolutely breaks my heart. I am not asking my colleagues to withhold a dime from a single abortion provider; although I will continue to fight to stop the spending of my constituents' dollars to the industries that take human life.

Today I simply ask the Members of this body to allow the millions of Americans who believe as I do--in the sanctity of every human life--to abide by those beliefs without having them trampled upon by their own government. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this very compassionate, reasonable, and modest bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. BLACK. Mr. Speaker, today we heard quite a few claims that were made, and I would like to set the Record straight.

First of all, the bill before us today simply protects the other right to choose, that is the right of healthcare providers to choose not to be involved in abortion. The bill does not change the legality of abortion in any way.

Some of my colleagues have raised concerns regarding how this bill may affect life-threatening cases. As a nurse who has worked in the emergency room, I can tell you that medical personnel always--always-- act to save patients who come through their doors, including pregnant women and their babies. It is that compassion and that drive to protect life that brought them to the medical profession in the first place.

Furthermore, stabilizing a woman when her life is in danger is the law. It is already the law. There is a standard of care and there is a law. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and the Active Labor Act, doctors and hospitals are required to stabilize emergency patients, including pregnant women.

So to be absolutely sure there is no confusion on this point, the Conscience Protection Act includes a rule of construction that clarifies those protections and EMTALA will continue to coexist side by side, offering women the assurance that they will be cared for in these situations.

We protect insurance plans and employers purchasing such plans from participation in abortion in this bill because that is the very scenario that has prompted the consideration of the bill.

Abortion is a highly controversial issue on which Americans have a wide range of views. It is reasonable to allow anyone who does not want to be a party to abortion to be able to opt out.

Recognizing this point, even President Obama's healthcare law, ObamaCare, allows States and insurance companies to opt out of including abortion in the health plans offered on the exchanges.

My bill simply ensures that the healthcare providers, as defined in the bill, are not forced or coerced to participate in a brutal procedure that is often painful to an unborn child.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source