California Churches are now forced to Cover Abortions

Washington, D.C. – In a shocking move, the Obama Administration has upheld California’s mandate that all churches must cover abortion services. The ruling has sparked a major backlash from religious leaders across the nation who consider this an unbelievable violation of their conscience rights.

In 2014, the California Department of Managed Health Care ordered almost all health coverage statewide – even coverage provided by churches and other religious organizations – to include abortion coverage. This mandate violates a federal law known as the Weldon amendment; however, the only avenue to enforce Weldon is through the Department of Health and Human Services. This week the HHS announced it was ruling against the all three complaints made against the order.

“It’s hard to comprehend how our country’s conscience and religious freedom protections have deteriorated in such a short period of time under the Obama Administration,” said Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund. “HHS’s role is to follow laws, not reinterpret them according to their blatant advocacy for abortion.”

The March for Life in Washington, D.C., began as a small demonstration on January 22, 1974, the first anniversary of the now-infamous Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world.  The peaceful demonstration that has followed on this somber anniversary every year since is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, abortion

Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund is available for commentary. For more information, please contact Andrew Shirley at Ashirley@SBPublicAffairs.com or (703) 739-5920.