{"id":345,"date":"2012-06-20T17:31:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-20T17:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/knights-of-columbus-files-comment-against-altered-hhs-mandate\/"},"modified":"2012-06-20T17:31:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-20T17:31:00","slug":"knights-of-columbus-files-comment-against-altered-hhs-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/knights-of-columbus-files-comment-against-altered-hhs-mandate\/","title":{"rendered":"Knights of Columbus files comment against altered HHS mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Jun 20, 2012 \/ 11:31 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Knights of Columbus has filed a formal comment with the Department of Health and Human Services asking the Obama administration to expand religious exemptions or rescind \u201caltogether\u201d the mandate for insurance coverage of sterilization and contraception.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is time for this administration to chart another course,\u201d said the June 19 letter, signed by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson.<\/p>\n

\tThe organization said the HHS mandate requires private Catholic individuals and entities, including the Knights of Columbus, to \u201cviolate their most deeply held religious beliefs\u201d in apparent violation of federal law and the U.S. Constitution\u2019s First Amendment.<\/p>\n

\tThe Catholic fraternal and charitable group said \u201cit is improper to deny statutory and First\u00a0Amendment rights to religious liberty in order to create an\u00a0entitlement to sterilization, abortifacients, and contraception.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Knights advocated for an expanded religious exemption that protects \u201call objecting individuals and organizations from cooperating in actions that genuinely offend their religious beliefs and moral convictions.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThey also stated that the right to individual free exercise of religion and the right of institutions are \u201cinseparably linked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBoth must be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Department of Health and Human Services is holding a comment period on proposed rules for preventive services under the 2010 health care legislation known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n

\tOn Jan. 20, the federal department finalized a rule which required employers\u2019 health plans to provide no co-pay coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs, as \u201cpreventive care\u201d for women. Because of the narrowness of the mandate\u2019s religious exemption, many Catholic institutions fall under the requirement despite their moral objections to the procedures and drugs.<\/p>\n

\tOn Feb. 10 the Obama administration made a proposal to require insurance companies, not employers, to provide the coverage. Catholic and other faith leaders said the proposal is still unacceptable.<\/p>\n

\tThe present HHS comment period on that proposal could help determine the outcome of the conflict.<\/p>\n

\tThe Knights of Columbus has 1.3 million U.S. members, who donate millions of dollars to charity and work millions of volunteer hours each year.<\/p>\n

\tOther Catholic organizations are also submitting comment for new proposed rules.<\/p>\n

\tThe Catholic Health Association argued for a broader religious exemption in a June 15 letter, reversing its earlier support for the Obama administration\u2019s accommodation that would require insurance companies to foot the bill for the mandate.<\/p>\n

\tOn June 18, the National Catholic Bioethics Center submitted a letter calling for the full rescinding of the mandate. At minimum, it said, the government should provide a \u201crobust, non-discretionary exemption\u201d for any employer, insurance company, college, or individual with religious objections.<\/p>\n

\tA comment was also filed today by the Bioethics Defense Fund. The fund focused on how the accommodation still involves material cooperation with evil and also presented a scientific argument that the mandated drugs are capable of terminating human life.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Jun 20, 2012 \/ 11:31 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Knights of Columbus has filed a formal comment with the Department of Health and Human Services asking the Obama administration to expand religious exemptions or rescind “altogether&r…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nKnights of Columbus files comment against altered HHS mandate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Jun 20, 2012 \/ 11:31 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Knights of Columbus has filed a formal comment with the Department of Health and Human Services asking the Obama administration to expand religious exemptions or rescind “altogether&r...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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