Earlier this week, top healthcare officials inside the Obama Administration admitted a new mandate would give unaccompanied illegal immigrant children unprecedented new access to abortions–all on the taxpayers’ dime.
While these latest regulations, quietly issued on Christmas Eve 2014, are touted by Health and Human Services (HHS) as “first regulation to comprehensively address the issues of sexual abuse and sexual harassment” for illegal minors, they will in fact have sweeping consequences when it comes to both abortion laws and religious freedom.
The regulation itself doesn’t specify which medical procedures are mandatory. But HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has recently clarified via email that, under these new regulations, illegal children must be given taxpayer-funded access to abortion on demand. The law also contains mandates that will supply abortion-inducing drugs like Plan B.
Surprisingly, this regulation doesn’t just apply to federally-funded health care providers offering services to illegal immigrants–it also applies to faith-based charities, many of whom are morally opposed to abortion.
In a statement, ORR addressed the potential moral issues with an abortion mandate, but refused to make any meaningful changes:
“ORR is mindful that some… contractors may have religious or moral objections to providing certain kinds of services… At the same time, ORR is also committed to finding ways for organizations to partner with us, even if they object to providing specific services on religious grounds.”
Under these new rules, Christian aid organizations will have no choice but to offer free abortions or partner with organizations who do, if they want to continue providing healthcare to illegal children.
These regulations come on the heels of a number of under-the-radar executive actions, directly aimed at expanding access to abortions. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration controversially issued another mandate that would force Christian relief groups operating overseas to give abortions to women who request them.
Organizations working with ORR will be forced to comply with these new regulations as of June
