Johnson County State Rep. Woody Burton (R-Whiteland) joined pro-life religious leaders and public figures in extolling the virtues of the First Amendment on Friday at the Statehouse. There he called upon Hoosiers to stand up for religious freedom in light of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abortion and contraceptive mandate. The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom was held in more than 100 U.S. cities on Friday to mark the second anniversary of President Barack Obama's signing of the contentious health care legislation—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)—and to protest the mandate. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently examining whether the mandate is constitutional. Twenty-six states are currently arguing that the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to mandate Americans to have healthcare. State government officials, including those in Indiana, are concerned that the number of people eligible for Medicaid will drastically increase—costing states millions of dollars that they don’t have. "Too many people are under the impression that our rights are given to us by the federal government, which couldn’t be further from the truth," said Rep. Burton A section of the PPACA rule includes language requiring all employer-provided health care plans must cover contraceptives for women without copayments or deductibles. "This is not a Catholic issue or a Baptist issue," Rep. Burton said. "It is an issue of religious freedom. We are here to stand, as people of faith, in defense of our God-given, First Amendment religious freedom rights. "We cannot allow the government to force us to fund that which we find unconscionable." The rally was organized by Pro-Life of Indianapolis and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society. The theme for the nationwide was "Stand Up for Religious Freedom -- Stop the HHS Mandate!"
|
