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| Please Take Action to Tell the Federal Government to Do No Harm to Catholic Health Care Ministries!Please contact the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to respect the religious liberty and conscience rights of medical professionals! Newly proposed rules on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could function as both an abortion mandate and a gender transition procedure mandate.The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asks you to contact HHS here: Action Center (votervoice.net). It takes less than three minutes of your time. Your voice makes a difference! The Catholic Church believes “life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God” and healthcare is a basic necessity for human flourishing (CCC #2288). Furthermore, the Church is one of the largest providers of healthcare in Texas and speaks with practical experience. As the bishop chairmen stated on behalf of the USCCB in response to the proposed rulemaking:Catholic health care ministries serve everyone, no matter their race, sex, belief system, or any other characteristic. The same excellent care will be provided in a Catholic hospital to all patients, including patients who identify as transgender, whether it be for a broken bone or for cancer, but we cannot do what our faith forbids. We object to harmful procedures, not to patients. [emphasis added]First, the proposed rules adopt a view of the human person that does not acknowledge the meaning and importance of sexual difference. This is an effort to advance gender ideology, a construct that denies biological sex and is divorced from scientific and ontological reality. Categorically refusing to perform, pay for, or provide counsel on so-called “gender transition or other gender-affirming care” (e.g., gender transition/reassignment surgeries, sterilizations, puberty suppression prescription drugs, or cross-sex hormones) would be considered discrimination.Second, HHS would include a provision in the rules specifically prohibiting discrimination on the basis of pregnancy-related conditions as a form of sex-based discrimination. However, the Department’s definition would encompass “termination of pregnancy” (i.e., abortion). Forcing Catholic healthcare facilities and medical professionals to choose between their work or violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or requiring them to provide or pay for procedures that they find unconscionable is unconstitutional. The TCCB stands ready to work with governmental partners to ensure improved access to healthcare for all, including for patients who struggle with gender dysphoria and for expectant mothers and children in need. As our nation continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we join Pope Francis, who stated in his 2022 World Day of the Sick address:“I wish to reaffirm the importance of Catholic healthcare institutions: they are a precious treasure to be protected and preserved; their presence has distinguished the history of the Church, showing her closeness to the sick and the poor, and to situations overlooked by others.” Ensuring that our nation respects the religious liberty and conscience rights of healthcare professionals would contribute to this end. Please tell HHS |
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ABYSSUS ABYSSUM INVOCAT / DEEP CALLS TO DEEP 