Editor’s Note: If you are looking for an article about speakers to the Republican Convention, CLICK HERE.
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The House just passed the Conscience Protection Act by a 245-182 vote.
Want to know how your Representative voted? Here’s the roll call.
(The roll call says the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act but the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 was added to the bill.)
Speaker Ryan perfectly summed up what this legislation is all about: “Whoever you are—whatever you believe—I think this is one thing we can all agree on: No one should be forced to violate their conscience—least of all by the federal government.”
This bill answers a direct threat against Catholic health care workers. The ACLU has been filing lawsuits to force Catholic doctors and nurses to perform abortions. Today’s vote in the House is a big win for our First Amendment right to religious liberty.
And this legislation provides additional legal recourse for Catholic doctors and nurses who might face discrimination for not performing an abortion. Instead of only appealing to the Department of Health and Human Services, this bill would allow these doctors and nurses to file for relief in civil court as well.
But this bill isn’t law yet. We need to get this legislation passed in the Senate. We’ll keep you posted on that.
For now, thanks to all CV members who called, emailed, and used social media to get the message out.