U.S. bishops, other Catholic groups back conscience protection bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and 32 other organizations have signed a joint letter of support for the Conscience Protection Act of 2017.

The bill, which has House and Senate versions, is intended to close loopholes that ignore the conscience rights of medical professionals on abortion, according to the signed letter.

“Even many ‘pro-choice’ Americans realize that the logic of their (opponents’) position requires them to respect a choice not to be involved in abortion,” said the letter, dated Sept. 6 and addressed to senators.

“Yet, with violations of federal conscience laws occurring in California, New York, Washington, Alaska, Illinois, and most recently Oregon, it is increasingly clear that the current laws offer far less protection in practice than in theory,” the letter added.

“Federal conscience laws do not authorize a ‘private right of action’ allowing the victims of discrimination to sue on their own behalf, and allowing courts to take measured action to end this discrimination,” it said.

Read more at Crux – https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/09/07/u-s-bishops-catholic-groups-back-conscience-protection-bill/