The chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty and pro-life committees said Aug. 12 that the U.S. Department of Justice “is acting in dereliction of its duty to enforce the plain meaning of federal law” by voluntarily dismissing a civil lawsuit against a hospital that forced nurses to assist in elective abortions against their religious beliefs.
The chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life and religious freedom committees said it was “deeply disappointing” that Congress omitted the Conscience Protection Act from the congressional funding bill for fiscal year 2018.
This past week, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops joined 25 other groups in supporting “The Conscience Protection Act of 2016” (H.R. 4828). This proposal was introduced on March 22 by Reps. John Fleming, M.D. (R-LA) and Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and seeks to respect the conscience rights of health care professionals and facilities.
