Testimony Opposing S3452 Presented by James J. King, Executive Director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference June 24, 2024
On behalf of the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey, the New Jersey Catholic Conference opposes S3452.
For decades, the Catholic Church has been a strong advocate calling for comprehensive healthcare reform. That advocacy was captured in a letter the Catholic Bishops sent to Members of Congress fifteen years ago – in 2009:
“All people need and should have access to comprehensive, quality healthcare that they can afford, and it should not depend on their stage of life, where or whether they or their parents work, how much they earn, where they live, or where they were born ... health care reform should truly be universal, and it should be genuinely affordable.”
Today, the Catholic Church continues our support of universal and affordable health care with special attention given to the poor and marginalized.
Just as important is our responsibility to speak out against any attempt to expand access to any procedures that are a direct attack on the dignity of the human person. We have grave concerns regarding the necessity of the proposed legislation, specifically:
Potential Violation of Constitutional Rights: The proposed legislation will require business owners opposed to abortion, who do not qualify for the limited religious exemption, to provide material cooperation for a procedure that violates their bona fide religious beliefs, a right protected under both the United States Constitution and New Jersey Constitution. The adoption of the mandate could force some employers into a dilemma to decide between continuing to provide health benefits to their employees at the expense of their religious beliefs and discontinuing healthcare coverage altogether.
The Increased Allocation of Public Funding to Pay for Abortions: As proposed, S3452 would cover 100% of the abortion cost for individuals receiving health insurance benefits via the state Medicaid program. Currently, New Jersey does not require annual reporting on the number of abortions performed each year, or medical complications resulting from the procedures. Essentially, without this data, New Jersey is allocating an unlimited amount of taxpayer funding for abortions.
For these reasons, we respectfully ask that you vote “No” on S3452.