defeated<\/a> the effort led by Senator Roy Blunt (Missouri) to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act as an amendment to pending legislation. Thirteen Catholic Senators joined the majority.<\/p>\nThe amendment, offered by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-MO, rolled back Barack Obama\u2019s invasive Health and Human Services mandate that employers insure contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs with no co-pay. While the health care reform law exempts churches, it would force religious institutions such as hospitals and universities to underwrite products that violate their deeply held religious beliefs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy consenting to the disastrous HHS mandate, the U.S. Senate has taken the unprecedented step to deny our religious liberties instead of defending the Constitution,\u201d said Matt Smith, president of Catholic Advocate. \u201cIt is disappointing to witness a group of senators misled on this issue at the expense of one of our key founding principles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following is a list of how the 24 Catholic Senators voted on the Blunt amendment:<\/p>\n
Senator Mark Begich (Alaska, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Marco Rubio (Florida, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Tom Harkin (Iowa, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator James Risch (Idaho, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Richard Durbin (Illinois, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Mary Landrieu (Louisiana, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator David Vitter (Louisiana, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator John Kerry (Massachusetts, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Barbara Mikulski (Maryland, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Susan Collins (Maine, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Claire McCaskill (Missouri, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator John Hoeven (North Dakota, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Mike Johanns (Nebraska, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Robert Menendez (New Jersey, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Kirsten Gillibrand (New York, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Bob Casey Jr. (Pennsylvania, D) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania, R) \u2013 Supported
\nSenator Jack Reed (Rhode Island, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Pat Leahy (Vermont, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Maria Cantwell (Washington, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Patty Murray (Washington, D) \u2013 Opposed
\nSenator Joe Manchin III (West Virginia, D) \u2013 Supported<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How did Catholics vote? A summary: Today, the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 51 \u2013 48, defeated the effort led by Senator Roy Blunt (Missouri) to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act as an amendment to pending legislation. Thirteen Catholic Senators joined the majority. The amendment, offered by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-MO, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n
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