Conscience Protection Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee for yielding and for her leadership not only on this bill, but especially for her work as chair of the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.

When we talk about this legislation, the Conscience Protection Act, I do want to also thank the author of the bill, Diane Black, as well as Dr. John Fleming, who helped lead this effort to draft it, Chairman Joe Pitts, and Chris Smith as well.

Madam Speaker, it is so important that we pass the Conscience Protection Act. If you look at our Bill of Rights, our Constitution, and the framework that gives people all across this country true religious freedom, we recognize now that religious freedom is under attack. You don't need to look any further than the State of California which passed a law that really was the genesis for bringing this bill forward, because under the California law, it literally started forcing people to perform abortions against their own faith.

We have heard about the story of Cathy DeCarlo, a nurse who was forced to participate in an abortion of a baby who was 22 weeks old at delivery. This should not happen in the United States of America. People should not be forced to violate their religious freedom, yet it is going on because this administration has not been enforcing the law. The Weldon amendment, which has been on the books since 2004, gives that very religious freedom protection that is now in jeopardy.

Madam Speaker, what we are doing with this bill is restoring the law, but we are doing two specific things:

First, we are making it very clear that this annual appropriations language becomes permanent. We shouldn't have to rely every year on reestablishing the law. Let's make this law permanent giving that religious freedom protection.

Second, we are no longer depending on HHS alone, which is not doing its job to enforce the law. We actually give people the ability to enforce the law themselves and let government work for them in protecting their religious freedoms.

It is critically important that we pass the Conscience Protection Act. I urge my colleagues to support it.

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