FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: February 3, 2011

CONTACT: Stephen Phelan 540-622-5270 – SPhelan@hli.org – www.hli.org

Obama Administration Decision on Contraception and Sterilization Driven by a Totalitarian Anti-Life Ideology

Human Life International Interim President condemns new HHS mandate

FRONT ROYAL, Virginia — Human Life International (HLI) Interim President Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro-Carambula today released the following statement regarding the Obama administration’s announcement that insurance companies must cover contraception and sterilization free of cost as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM):

“What President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decision amounts to is an attack on life itself from the moment of conception. By deciding that contraception and sterilization are “preventive medicine” the Obama administration is effectively labeling pregnancy as a disorder or disease. It is objectively immoral to consider the most natural of all human processes, pregnancy and childbirth, a disease that requires preventative care.

“Today’s decision by the Obama administration is a clear violation of the rights of conscience of all persons who consider the promotion and use of contraception, sterilization and abortifacients to artificially inhibit birth and destroy the creation of life as immoral actions. While the Obama administration’s statement says they will allow an exemption from this mandate for religious institutions, the proposed conscience protections are so narrow that very few organizations will actually be exempt from paying for contraception, surgical sterilizations and abortifacients. Additionally, many businesses owners will still be forced to offer this coverage to their employees, and many insurance policy holders will be forced to pay for these services against their moral convictions.

“The Obama administration is moving the United States one step closer to establishing a totalitarian socialist state with today’s decision by HHS. It is imposing an obligatory birth control policy when it mandates its incorporation into insurance contracts. The beneficiaries of this contracts are free to use or not, but both employers and beneficiaries will be forced to pay for it.”

Monsignor Barreiro also underlined the important work done by the new National Director of HLI America, Arland K. Nichols, in keeping public opinion properly informed on this very concerning issue.

“Arland and his team of writers on HLI America’s Truth and Charity Forum have done an excellent job analyzing this issue from a pro-life perspective beginning with the IOM’s original recommendation, and including analysis of the Obama administration’s decision this morning,” said Monsignor Barreiro.

About HLI: Human Life International: Pro-Life Missionaries to the World. Founded in 1981, HLI is the world’s largest international pro-life organization and has affiliates and associates in over 100 countries on six continents. www.hli.org

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