February, 16 2012, 09:40am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Simon Brown
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
Religious LIberty Does Not Grant a License to Deny the Rights of Others, Americans United Tells Congressional Panel
Church-State Watchdog Group Argues Against Sweeping Exemptions For Religious Groups In Health Care Law’s Birth Control Mandate
WASHINGTON
Religiously affiliated organizations do not have a religious liberty right to deny their employees birth control coverage in health care plans, Americans United for Separation of Church and State told a congressional panel today.
In written testimony submitted today to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, rejected arguments by conservative activists that private employers have a "conscience" right to tailor health care plans to meet their theological beliefs.
"Women - not their employers - should be allowed to make decisions about their healthcare and their religious beliefs," Lynn wrote in the testimony. "A woman may not share the religious beliefs of their employer or practice religion in exactly the same way her employer does. It is the woman's right to exercise her religion freely and make her own decisions about reproductive health, even if she is employed by an organization that holds a different position on these matters."
Lynn warned that broad exemptions based on religious belief could result in employees being denied vital services.
"For example, an employer who works for an individual who believes the Bible proscribes blood transfusions could be denied coverage for that life saving procedure or services related to the procedure," reads the testimony. "An employee who, in this tough job market, takes a job with an individual who opposes traditional medicine for religious reasons could be denied insurance that covers any service or item beyond prayer therapy. And, an employee who works for an adherent of Scientology could be denied most psychiatric services."
Lynn's written testimony noted that the birth control regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services exempt houses of worship. They cover only religiously affiliated entities such as hospitals, church colleges and social-service agencies. These agencies, Lynn noted, receive substantial taxpayer support and hire people from many different theological perspectives.
Under a compromise announced last week, religiously affiliated organizations do not have to pay directly for birth control. The costs will be shouldered by insurance companies, which will offer contraceptive coverage to women who want it. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and right-wing groups have denounced the compromise.
Lynn called the new rules reasonable.
"The separation of church and state means that the government will not force one religious view or doctrine upon the people," Lynn's testimony observes. "Expansion of the Obama compromise, however, would allow one particular religious doctrine to govern our public health policies at the expense of the health, safety, and religious conscience rights of the women they employ."
Concludes the testimony, "The religious exemption compromise attempts to strike a balance and not promote the private interests of one religion over the conscience of employees. This rule allows women - not their employers - to make decisions about their healthcare and their religious beliefs."
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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'All Because Columbia Refuses to Divest': Police Storm Campus, Violently Arrest Dozens
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Hundreds of New York City police officers descended on Columbia University Tuesday night to arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters and dismantle a Gaza solidarity encampment that inspired campus protests across the United States, with demonstrators calling on their schools to divest from companies profiting off Israel's devastating war.
Police, some wearing riot gear, entered Columbia's campus at the request of the university's president, Minouche Shafik, who authorized the NYPD to "clear all individuals from Hamilton Hall and all campus encampments."
Video footage shows officers entering a campus building that students occupied hours earlier, renaming it "Hind's Hall" after a 6-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli forces earlier this year. The Columbia Daily Spectator, the university's student newspaper, reported that "as they entered the building, officers threw down the metal and wooden tables barricading the doors and shattered the glass on the leftmost doors of Hamilton to enter with shields in hand."
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Footage of NYPD tactical teams raiding and clearing Columbia University. pic.twitter.com/roUe9Dp7Vb
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Other footage shows NYPD officers forcing their way through students who locked arms in front of the occupied campus building. One cop is seen kneeing a student on the ground.
Students reported that police used tear gas, which is banned in war, on demonstrators.
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NYPD just raided the Columbia campus and broken into the Hamilton building making dozens of violent arrests against students both outside and those occupying inside. pic.twitter.com/7wMp3EctZF
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Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said he was "outraged" by the police presence at both Columbia and the City College of New York, writing on social media that the "militarization of college campuses, extensive police presence, and arrest of hundreds of students are in direct opposition to the role of education as a cornerstone of our democracy."
"I call upon the Columbia administration to stop this dangerous escalation before it leads to further harm," Bowman added, "and allow the faculty back onto campus so that all parties can collectively come to a solution that centers humanity over hate."
“Let the students go.”
Crowds gather outside the police barricade surrounding Columbia University to demonstrate solidarity with student protesters.
Police have arrested multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrators after entering the campus. pic.twitter.com/0Ut6HHPWhB
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Police actions, approved by the leaders of some universities and cheered on by right-wing government officials, have drawn international rebukes. In a statement Tuesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he is "concerned that some of law enforcement actions across a series of universities appear disproportionate in their impacts."
"U.S. universities have a strong, historic tradition of student activism, strident debate and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, "Türk said. "It must be clear that legitimate exercises of the freedom of expression cannot be conflated with incitement to violence and hatred."
Observers were quick to note the parallels between the police crackdown on civil rights and anti-war protests at Columbia in 1968 and Tuesday's raid.
The Columbia Spectator, New York, Tuesday, April 30, 1968: https://t.co/4sNEDQ38Ks pic.twitter.com/2GO9MwUdx7
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Stefanie Fox, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said in response to the police invasion of Columbia Tuesday that "the U.S. has funded and supported the Israeli government's oppression of Palestinians for decades, with private institutions across the country profiting from the same."
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