Republicans and Democrats don’t come together nearly enough these days, and when we do it’s usually because of something we all recognize as clearly out of line. It takes a really bad idea to reveal our shared convictions on issues bigger than politics. That is the case with the new mandate from the Obama administration requiring religious organizations to offer insurance coverage for practices that go against the teachings of their church, violate the tenets of their faith and step on their constitutional protections.
Basically the government is saying, “Just do what you’re told, and leave the moral questions to us.” This runs against religious liberty, the Constitution, the consciences of millions of Americans and the independent spirit of Massachusetts. We don’t take well to imperious commands from Washington, and if we meekly submit to this mandate, you can be sure that a lot more will follow.
It was right here in Plymouth, after all, that pilgrims from Europe established a colony because of religious persecution. That tradition runs so deep that my predecessor, Sen. Ted Kennedy, believed just as I do: Religious liberty requires a conscience exemption in health care for Catholics and people of other faiths.
As a husband and father of two daughters, I believe that insurance companies should have to cover the services that women want and rely on, and that is the way I have voted. But I also recognize that there are some people who, based on their deepest moral and religious convictions, don’t agree with me regarding some of those services. My position is that we need to respect their rights too.
This latest mandate under government-controlled health care is one reason why I campaigned and voted against Obamacare in the first place. It operates by broad dictation from Washington, showing no respect for the judgment, needs or rights of individual Americans and the states. And it opens the door to endless abuses of power such as this latest mandate.
This is why I strongly support a bipartisan bill in the Senate that provides a conscience exemption from the Obamacare mandate. In effect, the bill would simply restore the relevant laws on conscience protection that existed before Obamacare removed them.
Critics would have you believe America would be turning back to the Dark Ages where evil employers would deny coverage for any illness at their personal whim. In fact, we would be returning to the way things were in 2010. There was no epidemic of employers objecting to routine insurance services then, and there will not be in the future.
The legislation I support borrows language directly from a bill sponsored by the late Sen. Kennedy in 1995, which provided an exemption for health care workers so they would not be required to provide “an item or service” they found objectionable based on “religious belief or moral conviction.”
I believe it’s possible to provide women with access to the health care they want, while at the same time protecting the rights of Americans to follow their religious beliefs, just as we did before Obamacare. The conscience exemption is a matter of fundamental fairness — and a right to be protected for all Americans, of every party and every faith.
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