Anchorage, Alaska, Mar 19, 2012 / 10:30 am
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a professing Catholic who has broken with the church on several fundamental moral teachings, publicly reaffirmed her support for abortion and contraception in early March.
Murkowski’s comments came during an interview with Anchorage Daily News writer Julia O’Malley. Murkowski said she regretted casting her March 1 vote in favor of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act that would have amended the federal health care law to allow health plans to decline coverage of contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs that are contrary to the religious beliefs of those offering the plan or those purchasing it.
“I have never had a vote I’ve taken where I have felt that I let down more people that believed in me,” Murkowski told the Anchorage Daily News in an article published March 5.
Murkowski explained that she initially voted for the conscience protection measure to affirm her support for religious freedom. She even wrote a letter to the Catholic Anchor in February in which she blasted the Obama Administration for mandating that religious groups offer health care coverage that is contrary to their moral teachings.