American Family Association: Help Protect Pro-Life Doctors

TUPELO, Miss.—Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s administration established a new division under the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Conscience and Religious Freedom Division was established to restore the enforcement of federal laws protecting religious freedom and rights of conscience.

Through this new division, HHS has issued a proposed regulation to enforce the protection of religious freedom that President Barack Obama’s administration shockingly ignored and violated. For example, Obama failed to enforce federal laws protecting the rights of conscience and religious liberty of those in California and Washington whose states mandated abortion coverage.

Now, the American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) is asking its more than 1 million friends and supporters to tell HHS they support this proposed regulation. This new action will provide “conscience-based protections for individuals and entities with objections to [abortion] based on religious belief and moral convictions.”

“As part of the process of establishing new regulations like this, HHS provides an opportunity for public comment on proposed regulation,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “Pro-abortion groups are lashing out against the proposed rule because they want our tax dollars to be used to force Christian health care workers to perform and participate in abortion. HHS needs to hear the truth about life and religious liberty from concerned citizens, which is why AFA is urging pro-life Americans to not only share information about this legislation with friends and family, but also to help ‘button up’ the years of Obama-era, anti-life violations.”

AFA further reported in its Action Alert that the director for the Office of Civil Rights at HHS, Roger Severino, recently issued a refreshing statement about religious liberty, stating, “Conscience protection is a civil right guaranteed by laws that too often haven’t been enforced. [This] proposed rule will provide our new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division with enforcement tools that will make sure our conscience laws are not empty words on paper, but guarantees of justice to victims of unlawful discrimination.”

“Health care professionals and churches purchasing health insurance should not be forced to participate in abortions,” Wildmon added. “We hope millions of Americans will send a message of thanks to the HHS for standing for religious liberty and urge the agency to stay the course.”

American Family Association is available to do immediate breaking news interviews via its LTN line at AFA studio headquarters. Contact Media@HamiltonStratetgies.com for information or call 610.584.1096, ext. 102.

View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.

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To interview a representative from the American Family Association, contact Deborah Hamilton, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, 610.584.1096, ext. 102, or Emily Brunner, ext. 100.