Full Text of SJR0060 97th General Assembly
SJ0060 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services | 3 | | Kathleen Sebelius has issued an order directing most American | 4 | | employers, including religious organizations and religious | 5 | | institutions, to provide specific insurance as part of the | 6 | | Affordable Health Care Act; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the United States | 8 | | Constitution protects the free exercise of religion; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, President James Madison, the father of our | 10 | | Constitution, understood that "religion then of every man must | 11 | | be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it | 12 | | is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate"; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The required practices directly contravene the | 15 | | teachings and beliefs of many religious denominations and their | 16 | | practitioners; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The religious leaders of many faiths and others | 18 | | believe the order infringes on First Amendment rights and have | 19 | | denounced it as an assault on religious liberty and the right | 20 | | of conscience of many citizens; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, President Thomas Jefferson warned that "to suffer | 2 | | the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of | 3 | | opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of | 4 | | principles, on the supposition of their ill tendency, is a | 5 | | dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious | 6 | | liberty"; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, President Obama's administration has not offered | 8 | | a right of conscience exemption and has instead proposed an | 9 | | "accommodation" for religious organizations and institutions, | 10 | | indicating institutions will not have to pay for the insurance | 11 | | coverage contrary to their religious tenets "directly"; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, There remains significant debate and ambiguity | 13 | | over the manner in which the Administration's modified order | 14 | | would be implemented; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The order would dramatically affect the ability of | 16 | | many religious-affiliated schools, universities, and health | 17 | | care facilities to continue to provide educational and health | 18 | | care services to their employees and families and to people of | 19 | | faith; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The order would seemingly supersede existing | 21 | | Illinois statutes, including the 1998 Health Care Right of | 22 | | Conscience Act; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 3 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge Congress to override the order | 4 | | created by the Obama administration in its entirety; and be it | 5 | | further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 7 | | delivered to President Barack Obama, Health and Human Services | 8 | | Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and the members of the Illinois | 9 | | congressional delegation.
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