,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcif ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #c1 #bjad ,mr4 ,luetkemeyer 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,ohio1 ,mr4 ,mc,caul1 ,mr4 ,broun of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,bentivolio1 and ,mr4 ,long7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services from implementing certain rules relating to the health insurance coverage of sterilization and contraceptives approved by the ,food and ,drug ,administration4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,religious ,liberty ,protection ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,deeply embedded in the history and traditions of the ,united ,states is the protection of religious freedom4 ,the ,first ,amendment of the ,united ,states ,constitution states ,congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion1 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof1 and thus1 it gives general protection for individuals' religious beliefs and practices4 7#b7 ,repeatedly during the existence of the ,united ,states1 ,congress has reaffirmed the freedom of religion by enacting1 among other things1 title ,,vii of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd1 the ,church amendment1 the ,weldon amendment1 section #bde of the ,public ,health ,service ,act1 and the ,religious ,freedom ,restoration ,act of #aiic4 ,through their passage1 the ,united ,states has augmented religious freedoms and set the precedent of protection of conscience rights4 7#c7 ,the ,weldon amendment has been regularly included in appropriations legislation for the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services4 ,the ,weldon amendment prohibits ,federal agencies1 ,states1 and local governments that receive the appropriated funds in the respective ,act from discriminating among institutional or individual health care professionals1 organizations1 facilities1 and plans on the basis of a health care entity's refusal to provide1 pay for1 provide coverage of1 or refer for abortions4 7#d7 ,the ,united ,states has a history of protecting individuals1 organizations1 facilities1 and plans from being penalized or discriminated against due to their religious beliefs and moral values4 ,until the enactment of the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act 7,public ,law #aaa-adh71 the ,federal ,government has never sought to impose specific health care coverage or care requirements that infringe on the conscience rights of insurers1 purchasers of insurance1 plan sponsors1 beneficiaries1 and other stakeholders1 such as individual or institutional health care entities4 7#e7 ,the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act grants the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services the authority to provide a list of detailed services to be included as essential health benefits 7as defined in section #acjb7;a7 of the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act71 and preventive health services described in section #bgac of the ,public ,health ,service ,act4 ,these services represent a new nationwide coverage requirement for health plans4 7#f7 ,the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act provides a narrow exemption for religious groups that object to participation in government health programs generally1 but it does not allow purchasers1 plan sponsors1 and other stakeholders with religious or moral objections to specific required items or services to decline providing or obtaining coverage of such items or services1 or allow health care entities with such objections to decline to provide them4 7#g7 ,by creating new barriers to health insurance and causing the loss of existing insurance arrangements1 these inflexible mandates in the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act jeopardize the ability of individuals to exercise their rights of conscience and their ability to freely participate in the health insurance and health care marketplace4 7#h7 ,in a significant move from the current free insurance coverage market1 the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services issued an interim rule on ,august #a1 #bjaa1 requiring individual and group health plans to cover free sterilization and all contraceptives approved by the ,food and ,drug ,administration4 7#i7 ,within the list of contraceptives approved by the ,food and ,drug ,administration are drugs containing abortifacient substances and effects1 including ,levonorgestral commonly known as ,plan ,b and ulipristal acetate marketed as ,ella4 ,thus1 the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act effectively mandates employers to provide health care insurance covering abortion drugs and services1 which is a violation of numerous ,federal provisions aforementioned4 7#aj7 ,on ,january #bj1 #bjab1 the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services announced that it would not broaden the religious exemption it included in its ,august #a1 #bjaa1 interim rule4 ,instead1 it gave institutions and employers with religious and moral objections to including free sterilization and all contraceptives approved by the ,food and ,drug ,administration in their offered health insurance plan an additional year to adapt their consciences to the mandate4 7#aa7 ,in ,june #bjac1 the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services proposed a definition of 8religious employer0 for purposes of the exemption from the contraceptive coverage requirement4 ,the exemption essentially only applies to formal houses of worship4 ,all other religiously affiliated entities must continue to comply with the mandate or otherwise face a fine4 #c4 ,protecting rights of conscience 7a7 ,prohibition on implementation of certain rules ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall not implement or enforce any provision of the final rule published on ,july #b1 #bjac 7#gh ,fed4 ,reg4 #cihgj71 or any amendment to such rule or rule published subsequent to such rule1 insofar as such provision1 amendment1 or subsequent rule relates to requiring any individual or entity to provide coverage of sterilization or contraceptive services to which the individual or entity is opposed on the basis of religious belief4 7b7 ,clarification on application to ,,ppaca requirements ,section #acjb7;b7 of the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,care ,act 7,public ,law #aaa-adh2 #db ,u4,s4,c4 #ahjbb7;b77 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#f7 ,special rule ,a health plan shall not be considered to have failed to provide the essential health benefits package described in subsection 7a7 7or preventive health services described in section #bgac of the ,public ,health ,service ,act71 to fail to be a qualified health plan1 or to fail to fulfill any other requirement under this title on the basis that the plan does not provide 7or pay for7 coverage of sterilization or contraceptive services because-- 7,a7 providing 7or paying for7 such coverage is contrary to the religious or moral beliefs of the sponsor1 issuer1 or other entity offering the plan2 or 7,b7 such coverage1 in the case of individual coverage1 is contrary to the religious or moral beliefs of the purchaser or beneficiary of the coverage4 4