When the Obama administration rejected complaints from groups like the California Catholic Conference, the U.S.
Lobbyists from Planned Parenthood wrote to the California Department of Health and Human Services to insist that agency rules be changed to force religious groups to provide coverage for elective abortions, according to emails published in court filings from the Alliance Defending Freedom legal group. His letter objected that "corrective action" was not specified.Ĭalifornia officials mandated the coverage after two Catholic universities in autumn 2013 announced that they planned to stop paying for employees' elective abortions and had secured state approval for the new health plans. The attorney general requested all evidence related to the Notice of Violation so that California could have a "full and fair opportunity" to refute it. This was proof the state was willing to comply with the Weldon Amendment.įederal action he said, threatens programs like emergency preparedness, infectious disease programs and child welfare programs. Only one provider had requested an exemption, he said, and this exemption was granted. California Supreme Court precedent, and California constitutional provisions require protections for "women's right to privacy and reproductive freedom." California legislation requires health plans to offer abortion services as part of "basic health care services." "HHS is assessing the recent letter from the California Attorney General and all appropriate remedies in light of California's continued refusal to comply with federal law."īecerra's letter echoed the arguments behind the state's 2014 rule change.
"For decades Californians could choose whether or not they wanted abortion-free health insurance coverage until California took away that option," Severino told CNA Feb. The office gave California 30 days to agree to comply with the law or face limits on federal HHS funds.Ĭatholic families flock to Appaloosa Music Festival: ‘An encounter with God’ Read article In a document known as a notice of violation, the Office of Civil Rights said that California's Department of Managed Health Care ignored its specific request to confirm or deny whether it would align its practices to the federal Weldon Amendment, and instead issued a response that "confirms its non-compliance." 24, federal officials sided with the Guadalupanas and another complainant, the Skyline Wesleyan Church of La Mesa. Their June 2017 complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights alleged that California's 2014 rules mandating abortion coverage in health plans burdened their conscience rights and compelled them to fund "the practice of abortion on demand for other plan participants," despite their Catholic beliefs that direct abortion is "gravely contrary to the moral law." Their service includes teaching religion classes and working with destitute Spanish-speaking immigrants. The Guadalupanas, whose province is headquartered in Los Angeles, are consecrated Catholic women who live among the poor and needy in inner city and rural areas. "At this point, my clients need to consider their next steps as does the federal government," said Greene.
0 kommentar(er)
