Probably the singlemost important fact about the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act is that it does not change any state or federal law currently in effect, but amends the mandated benefits provisions in President Obama’s health-care law to respect conscience rights. As one watcher of the debate emphasizes in the face of scare tactics from critics of the Blunt/Fortenberry bill: “The mandated benefits lists of PPACA have not yet gone into effect. So it is impossible for the Blunt amendment to take away any coverage people have now.”
Democrats should be able to easily support the Blunt amendment. The HHS mandate itself will force some religious organizations to stop providing health coverage to their employees. Is that truly the goal of some of those who supported Obamacare?