Scalise: Obama repackages contraceptive mandate, continues attack on religious freedoms

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Steve Scalise today issued the following statement after President Barack Obama’s announcement discussing his unconstitutional mandate forcing coverage of abortifacients, contraceptives, and sterilizations.

“It is extremely disappointing that President Obama continues to attack religious freedom by refusing to reverse the HHS ruling,” Scalise said.  “This latest mandate by President Obama is no compromise at all, and will continue to infringe on the religious freedom of individuals by forcing coverage of abortion-inducing drugs regardless of their own religious beliefs.  I am calling on the Obama Administration to completely reverse this mandate, not repackage it under a different name, because hard working American taxpayers will not stand by and let President Obama attack our religious freedoms and trample on the Bill of Rights by forcing the costs of abortion-inducing drugs to be passed on to all employers regardless of their faith.”

Earlier this week, Scalise led a bipartisan letter calling on President Obama to reverse this unconstitutional mandate.  The letter was signed by 153 other pro-life Members of Congress from around the country.  Scalise is also a cosponsor of H.R. 1179, a bill by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) to reverse the contraceptive mandate.  A copy of the letter led by Scalise can be found here.

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