Blunt: Administration action on birth control helps protect religious freedom and conscience rights

(From Sen. Roy Blunt)

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) Friday applauded the Trump administration for issuing new rules and guidance implementing President Trump’s Executive Order on strengthening First Amendment and religious freedom protections. The administration’s actions will help ensure the conscience rights of all Americans are protected, and provide regulatory relief for organizations, like the Little Sisters of the Poor, that have been forced to legally defend their right to practice their religious beliefs in court.

“I commend President Trump for following through on his promise to restore and protect the religious freedom and conscience rights of all Americans,” said Blunt. “No act of government should ever force Americans to compromise their faith. The new rules announced today will allow groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor to focus on their core missions without the fear that they’ll face huge government fines or lengthy legal battles. I’ll continue working with the administration to protect Americans’ right to exercise their beliefs, a fundamental freedom so important that the founders listed it in the first sentence of the First Amendment to our Constitution.”

In May, Blunt spoke on the Senate floor and sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressing continued opposition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate requiring religious organizations to pay for health care services that violate their beliefs. Blunt has led the fight against this unconstitutional mandate since it was originally put in place in 2011.