House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio walks of the floor of the House chamber on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, in Washington. The House rejected legislation to extend a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for two months, drawing a swift rebuke from President Barack Obama that Republicans were threatening higher taxes on 160 million workers on Jan. 1. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that the regulation finalized last month by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that requires all health insurance plans to cover sterilizations and contraceptives (including those that induce abortions) “violates our Constitution” because it forces Catholic institiutions to act against the teachings of the Catholic church.
“I think this mandate violates our Constitution,” Boehner said during his weekly news conference Thursday.
Boehner said that there was “a lot of opposition” to the new regulations enacted by the Department of Health and Human Services, because it forces Catholics to provide access to contraceptives despite the fact that the Catholic Church holds that contraception is immoral.
“There is obviously a lot of opposition to the announcement by the … Secretary of Health and Human Services to requiring religious organizations to violate their beliefs in ordering that all insurance policies certain contraceptive benefits,” said Boehner.
“I think this mandate violates our Constitution. I think it violates the rights of these religious organizations and I would hope that the administration would back up and take another look at this,” he added.
The regulation, initially proposed last August, was set to take effect this Aug. 1.