Washington D.C., Sep 21, 2010 / 04:04 am
Officials with the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference have urged the Department of Health and Human Services not to require coverage of contraception and sterilization, saying such mandates could compel coverage for abortion-causing drugs and could threaten freedom of conscience.
Anthony Picarello, general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Michael Moses, USCCB associate general counsel, in a September 17 letter to HHS, said that the drugs, devices and procedures under consideration “prevent not a disease condition, but the healthy condition known as fertility.” Contraception and sterilization pose “significant risks” to women’s lives and health, while mandating their coverage would pose “an unprecedented threat to rights of conscience.”
According to the USCCB, Picarello and Moses said such a mandate would threaten the rights of conscience for religious employers and others with moral or religious objections to these procedures.
“In this regard, the Administration’s promise that Americans who like their current coverage will be able to keep it under health care reform would be a hollow pledge,” they argued.