Staff Reports
On Monday, the HHS announced that it was looking to remove the religious exemption that employers have to provide in their employee health insurance plans.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it would no longer allow employers to claim religious exemptions to avoid providing contraception to their employees. This move could potentially affect the freedom of religious individuals.
According to Matt Bowman, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, the move shows that the pro-choice agenda of the Trump administration is very important.
He stated that the Biden administration is trying to force people to pay for abortion even though they have religious objections. However, they are also going after non-religious individuals who are pro-life.
According to Biden's proposal, non-religious individuals do not have the same rights as religious objectors when it comes to claiming religious exemptions.
The proposal noted that the Third Circuit did not extend the exemption to organizations that are secular. It stated that the government has a history of protecting religious freedom.
It stated that if the new rules were implemented, then religious entities would be allowed to exclude their employees from having access to abortion-related insurance coverage. However, this would create an independent pathway for women seeking contraceptives or abortion services. The HHS also noted that it does not have evidence of how many organizations use the moral exemption.
It also noted that the Departments of Health and Human Services did not have the necessary data to estimate the number of organizations that would be able to use the religious exemption. In November 2018, the final rules were issued. These rules were based on the assumption that nine for-profit and nine nonprofit organizations would be able to use the exemption.
In response to the administration's claims, Bowerman stated that personal beliefs are not the government's business.
He also stated that people should not be forced to violate their religious beliefs in order to run their businesses or obtain health insurance. The government should not be able to determine that pro-life beliefs are unforgivable if they are held by atheists, agnostics, or people who are not religious.
According to Sarah Parshall Perry, an attorney at the Heritage Foundation, the government cannot intrude on people's personal beliefs.
Perry also stated that the government should not be able to force secular organizations to violate their moral or religious beliefs in order to provide abortion-related services. He said that people should be allowed to act on their beliefs under the RFRA or the First Amendment.
The proposal also cited the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which made it more important for women to have access to contraceptives.
In his proposal, Perry stated that providing women with free access to contraception is a national public healthcare priority. It is also important to ensure that women have the necessary tools and resources to make informed decisions regarding their reproductive health.
Perry noted that the administration has used various excuses to get around the law. He claimed that the Bidens have been able to accomplish their goals with little concern for those who are left behind.
Perry noted that the Trump administration is still not satisfied with its efforts regarding the availability of contraception. He said that the government's actions will lead to a flood of lawsuits against the administration's religious and moral beliefs.
White House and HHS did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on DAILY CALLER.
