Democratic Congressman and Supporter of ACA Speaks Out Against HHS Mandate

On Tuesday, USA Today published an opinion editorial by former Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak, who proudly supports the Affordable Care Act, but exhorts his colleagues to protect the conscience of Americans like the Green family of Hobby Lobby from the controversial Health and Human Services Mandate.

Americans should never “be required to pay for abortions or violate their conscience by participating in or promoting a procedure they find morally objectionable, ” says Stupak.

Stupak still supports the ACA, and does so proudly. He wants to ensure that all Americans, and women in particular, have access to low-cost, high-quality healthcare; that, after all, is why he voted for the law in the first place. Stupak does not believe, however, that you and I must “relinquish our conscience and moral convictions in order to implement the Affordable Care Act.”

Every generation of Americans, from founding to present, cherishes rights of conscience. “Today, we exempt pacifists from military service, anti-death penalty doctors from being required to assist in executions—including indirect assistance such as certifying a prisoner’s mental competence before execution—and pro-life nurses from being required to assist with abortions.”

Stupak encourages fellow Democrats and the Supreme Court to remember that “The Affordable Care Act struck an important balance between improving health care options and respecting conscience, a moral conscience that no one can violate, not even the federal government through an HHS mandate.”

Read the Op-Ed here.