1Ensuring the rights of conscience of Pennsylvania citizens
2relating to health insurance; and providing for health
3insurance coverage limitations for contraception,
4sterilization and abortifacient drugs and devices.

5WHEREAS, The Preamble to the proposed amendments to the
6Constitution of the United States, which became the Bill of
7Rights, sent by Congress for consideration by the States, signed
8by Frederick Muhlenberg, Speaker of the House of
9Representatives, and John Adams, Vice-President and President of
10the Senate, and attested to by John Beckley, Clerk of the House
11of Representatives, and Samuel Otis, Secretary of the Senate,
12provides that "The Conventions of a number of the States, having
13at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a
14desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its
15powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should
16be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in
17the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its
18institution"; and

1WHEREAS, The Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the
2First Amendment were proposed in order to protect the rights of
3individual conscience and religious denominations from coercion
4by Federal authorities; and

5WHEREAS, Protection of rights of conscience was, in 18th-
6century terms, synonymous with religious freedom; and

7WHEREAS, The wording of initial versions of what became the
8First Amendment as reported in congressional debates expressly
9affirmed the protection of rights of conscience; and

10WHEREAS, On August 24, 1789, the House of Representatives
11under the leadership of James Madison voted to send the
12following proposed amendment to the Constitution: "Congress
13shall make no law establishing religion, or to prevent the free
14exercise thereof, or to infringe the rights of conscience"; and

15WHEREAS, The omission of direct words affirming the
16protection of conscience in the final version of the First
17Amendment is consistent with the purpose of protecting rights of
18individual conscience as a legislative goal, as the Annals of
19Congress noted Congressman Daniel Carroll as stating: "As the
20rights of conscience are, in their nature, of peculiar delicacy,
21and will little bear the gentlest touch of the governmental
22hand... [h]e would not contend with gentlemen about the
23phraseology, his object was to secure the substance in such a
24manner as to satisfy the wishes of the honest part of the
25community."; and

26WHEREAS, The public record and statements of members of the
27First Congress who supported the First Amendment affirm that
28they sought to protect freedom of conscience from Federal
29interference; and

30WHEREAS, Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of

1Pennsylvania Constitution states "[A]ll men have a natural and
2indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the
3dictates of their own consciences; no man can of right be
4compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or
5to maintain any ministry against his consent; no human authority
6can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights
7of conscience, and no preference shall ever be given by law to
8any religious establishments or modes of worship"; and

9WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court in Everson v. Board
10of Education of Ewing, 330 U.S. 1, 67 S. Ct. 504, 91 L. Ed. 711
11(1947), expressly referenced a Commonwealth's ability to set
12forth a citizen's religious freedom and affirmed the judicial
13finding that "[T]his Court has previously recognized that the
14provisions of the First Amendment, in the drafting and adoption
15of which Madison and Jefferson played such leading roles, had
16the same objective and were intended to provide the same
17protection against the governmental intrusion on religious
18liberty..."; and

19WHEREAS, The First Congress, which included members of the
201787 Constitutional Convention, in addition to proposing the
21First Amendment, also reenacted in 1789 the Northwest Ordinance
22passed by the Continental Congress in 1787 for the governance of
23territories, which provided, "[N]o person, demeaning himself in
24a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on
25account of his mode of worship, or religious sentiments, in the
26said territory... [and] Religion, morality, and knowledge being
27necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind"; and

28WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 3 of the Constitution of the
29United States, which provides for the taking of oaths or
30affirmation of office, and the ban on religious tests as a

1precondition for holding Federal office were enacted, in part,
2to ensure that citizens did not need to abandon their faith or
3right of conscience to become public servants; and

4WHEREAS, The President of the United States, the Congress of
5the United States, and the United States Supreme Court have
6failed to protect the rights of conscience adequately. All three
7branches of the Federal Government have promoted and preferred
8some beliefs and the citizens who hold them over others, and
9those laws, policies and regulations are neither neutral nor
10generally applicable; and

11WHEREAS, The Federal requirement that health insurance
12policies cover contraception methods, sterilization procedures
13and abortifacient drugs or devices is not a neutral and
14generally applicable law because it is not applicable to many
15millions of Americans; and

16WHEREAS, The Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act
17protects the rights of conscience against burdens imposed by
18Federal law and provides that if any Federal law substantially
19burdens a person's exercise of religion, the application of that
20burden to that person must be in the least restrictive means to
21further a compelling government interest; and

22WHEREAS, The law of the Commonwealth prohibits the use of
23Federal or State funds appropriated by the Commonwealth under 18
24Pa.C.S. § 3215(c) for abortions, including the use of
25abortifacient drugs, with limited exceptions; and

26WHEREAS, The Federalist Papers affirm that state legislatures
27have constitutional authority and responsibility to protect and
28defend citizens against improper actions of the Federal
29Government, as reflected in Federalist No. 26 by Alexander
30Hamilton, which provides that "the State legislatures, who will

1always be not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians
2of the rights of the citizens against encroachments from the
3federal government, will constantly have their attention awake
4to the conduct of the national rulers, and will be ready enough,
5if any thing improper appears, to sound the alarm to the people,
6and not only to be the VOICE, but, if necessary, the ARM of
7their discontent."; and

8WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that the proposed
9regulations from the United States Department of Health and
10Human Services requiring individuals, businesses and religious
11organizations to purchase health insurance that includes
12coverage for contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures and
13abortifacient drugs or devices (i) constitute a taking of
14private property for private use in the Fifth Amendment to the
15Constitution of the United States and (ii) violate the rights of
16conscience and the free exercise of religion as protected and
17provided for under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of
18Pennsylvania; the First Amendment to the Constitution of the
19United States; and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

20The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
21hereby enacts as follows:

22Section 1.  Short title.

23This act shall be known and may be cited as the Health
24Insurance Right of Conscience Act.

25Section 2.  Health insurance coverage limitations for
26contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs
27and devices.

28(a)  General rule.--An individual or group accident or
29sickness insurance policy providing hospital, medical and
30surgical or major medical coverage on an expense-incurred basis

1issued by an insurer, an individual or group accident and
2sickness subscription contract provided by a corporation or a
3health care plan for health care services provided by a health
4maintenance organization may not provide for coverage for United
5States Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception
6methods, sterilization procedures or abortifacient drugs or
7devices unless the subscriber or enrollee in the policy,
8contract or plan requests the coverage.

9(b)  Employer self-insurance plans.--An employer who provides
10for health and medical care or reimbursement of medical expenses
11for its employees as a self-insurer may not be required to
12include coverage for contraception methods, sterilization
13procedures or abortifacient drugs or devices.

14Section 3.  Applicability.

15The provisions of this act shall apply to any insurer,
16corporation or health maintenance organization offering a
17policy, contract or plan through a health benefit exchange
18required or authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable
19Care Act (Public Law 111, 148, 124 Stat. 119), as amended by the
20Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law
21111-152, 124 Stat. 1029).

22Section 4.  Effective date.

23This act shall take effect in 60 days.