Missouri: Please show this man the door

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We've known for a while now that reproductive rights include opposing any sort of abortion survivor legislation and opposition to any sensible late-term abortion bans because that's a slippery slope or something, but now with ObamaCare Obamatax, reproductive rights also means that you will be forced to pay for others people's birth control.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon caved to pro-abortion groups, including, apparently, the Sierra Club because dead fetuses have a totally awesome carbon footprint?

After significant pressure from pro-abortion groups, Governor Jay Nixon vetoed pro-life legislation passed during this year's General Assembly. Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups pressed Nixon to reject Senate Bill 749, sponsored by Senator John Lamping that is a challenge to the contraceptive and abortion drug mandate issued by the Obama Administration.

The bill approved by the Missouri Legislature states that no employee or employer can be forced to purchase health insurance coverage which includes abortion, contraception, or sterilization, if those items or procedures are contrary to their "religious beliefs or moral convictions." The bill provides that no governmental entity can penalize an employee or employer for declining or refusing to purchase or provide such coverage.

Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life, criticized Nixon for vetoing the bill.

"During the 2012 Legislative Session, the Missouri Senate and House passed SB 749 in response to the HHS mandate from Kathleen Sebelius and the Obama Administration forcing religious institutions to pay for abortions," she told LifeNews. "SB 749 would have sent a clear message that pro-life Missourians oppose participating in the taking of innocent human lives against our religious beliefs."

"SB 749 also would have placed in statute the ability for people of faith to bring a lawsuit if they are forced to pay for morally objectionable procedures. Governor Nixon joins the Obama Administration in attacking our religious liberty by supporting the HHS mandate forcing all Missourians to pay for insurance that includes abortion coverage even if doing so is a violation of our religious beliefs," Fichter added. "SB 749 passed the Missouri House and Senate with strong bi-partisan support. Missouri Right to Life urges the legislature to override this veto in September. A veto override of SB 749 will show pro-life Missourians who will stand for our religious liberties."

A veto override is a distinct possibility as the bill passed both the Senate and the House by 28-6 and 105-33 margins, respectively (We submit that we don't know what percentage of votes would be needed in both chambers to override the veto).

And recall it was Missouri, home of Health and Human Services secretary and defacto Obamatax czar, Kathleen Sebelius, that gave ObamaTax a resounding if symbolic only vote of no-confidence a couple of years back in a public referendum.

Lamping's bill states that no employee or employer can be compelled to obtain or provide health care coverage for abortion, contraception, or sterilization, if such items or procedures violate their religious beliefs. The legislation would not reverse the impact of the contraceptive mandate in Missouri. However, it would become law in Missouri if the abortion drug mandate were to withdrawn by a new President, repealed by Congress, or invalidated by a federal court.

"The contraceptive edict issued by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requires that all health insurance plans include coverage for every contraceptive approved by the Food and Drug Administration. That includes the abortifacient drugs Ella and Plan B," said Joe Ortwerth of the Missouri Family Policy Council. "The mandate takes effect August 1st. Religious organizations other than churches will have until August 1st of 2012 comply. That means that Catholic institutions and employers will be forced to provide health insurance coverage that violates their religious doctrines, or drop their health insurance coverage altogether."

The Catholic Church in the United States is making it clear that they have no intention to comply. The Archdiocese of St. Louis and Catholic Charities of St. Louis have joined 42 other Catholic dioceses and Catholic agencies in filing 12 different regional lawsuits against the Department of Health and Human Services over the abortion drug mandate.

We, along with other groups of faith and also other freedom-lovers of little or no faith, stand with the Catholic Church.

We continue to be amazed that the administration continues to double down on a fight of their own making that is bad on principle as well as politics. It's not like the Sandra Fluke's of the world are not going to vote for Obama because he didn't strong-arm the Church into paying for her birth control.

The man who campaigned on bringing this country together has proven to be a liar on that count as we cannot imagine an issue that would represent the complete antithesis of that concept.


Oh, and another thing: We know nothing of Jay Nixon's policies or politics but because of this single act of cowardice in a state that has demonstrated at the public and legislative levels, they want nothing to do with this law, that they show him the door at the next available opportunity.

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