Following President Barack Obama's announcement of a "compromise" on the mandate requiring religious organizations to pay for contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans, Congressman Doug Lamborn  (CO-05) issued the following statement.

"The Obama Administration’s newest ‘compromise’ on the issue of religious freedom and ObamaCare is little more than a political gimmick designed to distract from what is at stake. Despite efforts to confuse the issue, the bottom line is the President’s newly-revised mandate still tramples upon religious freedom.

"The White House’s own fact sheet lays out the contradiction inherent in the new 'compromise.' It states that religious employers 'will not' have to pay for abortion pills, sterilization and contraception, but their 'insurance companies' will. But, because the religious organization pays for the insurance policy, they are still forced to violate their core religious beliefs. Additionally, because many religious organizations self-insure, the administration’s 'compromise' doesn’t apply to them.

"With only slightly different wording, the Obama Administration is still forcing religious organizations to pay for contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their healthcare plans."-- Doug Lamborn (CO-05)

Earlier this week, Congressman Lamborn and more than 150 other Members of the House sent a bipartisan letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging her to reverse the administration’s controversial mandate affecting religious organizations and contraception.

To read the letter to Secretary Sebelius, clickhere.

To view the list of signers, clickhere.

Congressman Lamborn is also a cosponsor of H.R. 1179, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.   

The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act leaves sponsors, purchasers, and insurers free to negotiate a health plan without governmental officials using the ObamaCare mandates to force religious and other employers to violate their deeply held convictions.  It simply leaves federal law where it was before ObamaCare.

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