ACLU Ignores Threats To Womens's Health

Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro-Carámbula, interim president of Human Life International (HLI), today blasted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for what he called their "flagrant disregard for women's health, and for the constitution." He was referring to aJanuary 12 statement wherein the ACLU defended the inclusion of contraception in federally-mandated health coverage, and the ACLU criticized the US Catholic bishops for asking for contraception to be precluded from coverage.

First, the letter from counsel of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) made an argument based entirely on objective information available to every reasonable person. It was clearly not a 'religious argument' as the ACLU states," said Monsignor Barreiro. "Thus, it must be the position of the ACLU that anything that comes from a religious entity is de facto a religious argument, even if it uses no religious premises, and thus is not welcome in the public square. This is utterly unconstitutional as a grave offense to the first amendment, and if accepted as reasoning by the federal government, represents an acceptance of religious bigotry."

"Second," continued Monsignor Barreiro, "the ACLU is calling for a Group-1 carcinogen (WHO: Estrogen-progestogen oral contraceptives) to be prescribed to unsuspecting women, and paid for by the government. And they do so, ironically, in calling contraception 'a matter of health and individual conscience.' A matter of health? If the ACLU cared about women's health, they would not be promoting a known cancer-causing agent as a basic offering in government-mandated healthcare coverage. This fact, along with the growing body of evidence showing that oral contraceptives are having a serious and negative impact on the environment, in addition to multiple negative social effects, should lead the ACLU to join the USCCB in questioning its inclusion in federal health care coverage.

"We reject bigotry in all its forms, just as we reject all threats to human life and dignity. The ACLU's argument betrays the former, and their promotion of oral contraception is obviously an example of the latter: as it is a clear threat to human life and dignity," said Monsignor Barreiro.

Human Life International: Pro-Life Missionaries to the World -- Founded in 1981, HLI is the world's largest international pro-life organization and has affiliates and associates in over 100 countries on six continents. www.hli.org

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