Synod President Matthew C. Harrison will be one of several religious leaders to testify during the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's hearing, "Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?"
The hearing will be held Thursday, Feb. 16, between 9:30-11:30 a.m. EST at the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. It can be streamed lived at the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's website here.
A video message, press release and media coverage about this issue can be found at http://www.lcms.org/hhsmandate.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted a rule in January 2012 under the “Affordable Care Act” requiring employers to provide access to health insurance that covers most forms of birth control, even those that can cause the death of an unborn child. The rule, or mandate, exempts churches but applies to other religious employers. On Feb. 10, President Obama announced an “accommodation” for religious employers, saying they would not have to cover birth control, but that insurance companies would provide free birth control, including “morning after” pills. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) objects to the use of drugs and procedures that are used to take the lives of unborn children, who are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception.
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