SJ0060 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0060 LRB097 20616 GRL 66467 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has issued an order directing most American employers, including religious organizations and religious institutions, to provide specific insurance as part of the Affordable Health Care Act; and

WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the free exercise of religion; and

WHEREAS, President James Madison, the father of our Constitution, understood that "religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate"; and

WHEREAS, The required practices directly contravene the teachings and beliefs of many religious denominations and their practitioners; and

WHEREAS, The religious leaders of many faiths and others believe the order infringes on First Amendment rights and have denounced it as an assault on religious liberty and the right of conscience of many citizens; and

WHEREAS, President Thomas Jefferson warned that "to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles, on the supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty"; and

WHEREAS, President Obama's administration has not offered a right of conscience exemption and has instead proposed an "accommodation" for religious organizations and institutions, indicating institutions will not have to pay for the insurance coverage contrary to their religious tenets "directly"; and

WHEREAS, There remains significant debate and ambiguity over the manner in which the Administration's modified order would be implemented; and

WHEREAS, The order would dramatically affect the ability of many religious-affiliated schools, universities, and health care facilities to continue to provide educational and health care services to their employees and families and to people of faith; and

WHEREAS, The order would seemingly supersede existing Illinois statutes, including the 1998 Health Care Right of Conscience Act; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge Congress to override the order created by the Obama administration in its entirety; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to President Barack Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and the members of the Illinois congressional delegation.