Federal Government Grants Reprieve on HHS Mandate

Abortion, , ,

Over the years we have written repeatedly about Obamacare’s contraception mandate — also called the “HHS Mandate.” The mandate requires employers to pay for contraception and abortion-inducing medication.

Many people find this mandate unconscionable and have sued the federal government in court. While the original mandate included religious exemptions for churches, the exemption was extremely narrow.

On Friday, the federal Department of Justice unveiled its “interim final rule” keeping the mandate in place for the vast majority of employers’ employees, but dramatically expanding the Obama administration’s narrow categories for religious exemption.

This makes it much less likely Americans will be forced to violate their consciences by paying for contraception and drugs that cause abortions.

Congress needs to take steps to make this interim final rule a permanent fixture in federal law. In the meantime, the Trump Administration has given people of faith a reprieve from the Obama Administration’s HHS mandate.

READ MORE

Planned Parenthood to Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Throw Out Pro-Life Ruling

Abortion, , , ,

This week Planned Parenthood indicated it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling in favor of a pro-life law Arkansas passed in 2015.

More than two years ago the Arkansas Legislature passed the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act. This law requires abortion providers to follow FDA protocols when dispensing abortion drugs and maintain an agreement with a physician who has admitting privileges at a hospital.

The legal battle over the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act has been long and drawn-out.

Planned Parenthood sued the state over the law late in 2015. A lower court blocked the law from enforcement early last year.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge appealed to the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Last July a panel of judges from the Eighth Circuit ruled in favor of the law.

Planned Parenthood subsequently asked the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to revisit the issue, but the circuit judges declined to do so.

Now Planned Parenthood has filed a motion with the Eighth Circuit asking the court to block enforcement of the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act while attorneys appeal the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Planned Parenthood says it won’t be able to do abortions if this law stands, because its clinics have been unable to find a doctor with hospital admitting privileges who will contract with them.

So far its attorneys are asking the Eighth Circuit to block enforcement of the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act so Planned Parenthood can keep doing abortions in Arkansas while it makes its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In my opinion, this is a long shot for Planned Parenthood. The Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act is a good law that ought to be enforced. The Arkansas Legislature passed it with strong support, and Attorney General Rutledge’s office has defended it in court since Day One. We look forward to other pro-life victories in the future.

Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

READ MORE

Congress Passes Landmark Pro-Life Bill

Abortion, , ,

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

We recently wrote about this good, pro-life bill. It protects unborn children by generally prohibiting abortion after the twentieth week of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. It is similar to a pro-life law the Arkansas Legislature passed in 2013.

All four of Arkansas’ congressmen — Reps. Crawford, Hill, Womack, and Westerman — co-sponsored this bill, and all four of them voted for it yesterday.

The House approved the bill by a vote of 237 to 189, with 7 representatives not voting. It now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration. President Trump has indicated he would sign the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act if it reached his desk.

Take Action: Contact your U.S. Congressman, and thank him for supporting this good bill. His contact information is below.

U.S. CONGRESSMAN RICK CRAWFORD (AR DISTRICT 1)

Rick_Crawford,_Official_Portrait,_112th_Congress

Jonesboro Office:
2400 Highland Drive, Suite 300
Jonesboro, AR 72401
Phone: (870) 203-0540
Fax: (870) 203-0542

D.C. Office:
1711 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4076
Fax: (202) 225-5602

Click Here to Email Congressman Crawford

U.S. CONGRESSMAN FRENCH HILL (AR DISTRICT 2)

French_Hill_official_photo

Little Rock Office:
1501 N. University Ave.
Suite 630
Little Rock, AR 72207
Phone: (501) 324-5941
Fax: (501) 324-6029

D.C. Office:
1229 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2506
Fax: (202) 225-5903

Click Here to Email U.S. Congressman Hill

U.S. CONGRESSMAN STEVE WOMACK (AR DISTRICT 3)

675px-Steve_Womack,_Official_Portrait,_112th_Congress_-_Hi_Res

Rogers Office:
3333 Pinnacle Hills, Suite 120
Rogers, Arkansas 72758
Phone: (479) 464-0446
Fax: (479) 464-0063

D.C. Office:
1119 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4301
Fax: (202) 225-5713

Click Here to Email U.S. Congressman Womack

U.S. CONGRESSMAN BRUCE WESTERMAN (AR DISTRICT 4)

599px-Bruce_Westerman_official_congressional_photo

Hot Springs Office:
101 Reserve St.
Suite 200
Hot Springs, AR 71901
Phone: (501) 609-9796
Fax: (501) 609-9887

D.C. Office:
130 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3772
Fax: (202) 225-1314

Click Here to Email U.S. Congressman Westerman

READ MORE