Governor Nixon Vetoes SB 749

The following statement can be attributed to Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life.

During the 2012 Legislative Session, the Missouri Senate and House passed SB 749 in response to the HHS mandate from Kathleen Sebelius and the Obama Administration forcing religious institutions to pay for abortions. SB 749 would have sent a clear message that pro-life Missourians oppose participating in the taking of innocent human lives against our religious beliefs. SB 749 also would have placed in statute the ability for people of faith to bring a lawsuit if they are forced to pay for morally objectionable procedures. Governor Nixon joins the Obama Administration in attacking our religious liberty by supporting the HHS mandate forcing all Missourians to pay for insurance that includes abortion coverage even if doing so is a violation of our religious beliefs.

SB 749 passed the Missouri House and Senate with strong bi-partisan support. Missouri Right to Life urges the legislature to override this veto in September. A veto override of SB 749 will show pro-life Missourians who will stand for our religious liberties.

We are sincerely disappointed that Governor Nixon has chosen to give away our religious liberties to Washington politicians.

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare

Missouri Right to Life
Press Release

For Immediate Release:
June 28, 2012

For Information:
573-635-5110 314-662-3518

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Obama Health Care Law

The following statement can be attributed to Pam Fichter, MRL President:

The message of the disappointing Supreme Court decision today is that elections matter.  We must work to replace this pro-abortion president and Senate with a pro-life president and pro-life leadership in the Senate.  Make your voice heard in November!

While the challenges to the law were not based on the life issue, this 5 to 4 decision is a devastating setback for all who believe in the sanctity of life and in the freedoms upon which this country was founded.

The Obama Health Care Law contains multiple provisions that provide authorizations for subsidies for abortion, both implicit and explicit, and also multiple provisions which may be used as bases for abortion-expanding administrative actions.  This is a sharp departure from decades of previous federal policy under the Hyde Amendment, the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, and other federal programs.

In addition, doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers will be told by Washington just what diagnostic tests and medical care are considered to meet “quality and efficiency” standards.

These standards are specifically designed to limit the funds that Americans may choose to spend on health care so that they cannot keep up with the rate of medical inflation.  Treatment that a doctor and patient deem needed or advisable to save the patient’s life or preserve or improve the patient’s health but which runs afoul of the imposed standards will be denied, even if the patient is willing and able to pay for it.In effect, there will be one uniform, national standard of care, established by Washington bureaucrats, that is designed to limit what private citizens are allowed to spend to save their own lives.

This decision makes it absolutely imperative that this law be repealed by the next congress and president.  Missouri Right to Life Political Action Committee will work diligently to make sure we have a strongly pro-life congress and president committed to repealing this life-destroying legislation.

Please click here for reaction from National Right to Life.

Darrin Rogers at Missouri Rally for Religious Liberty

At the Missouri Rally for Religious Liberty in Jefferson City this Tuesday, Darrin Rodgers, director of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, read a statement from George O. Wood, superintendent of the General Council of Assemblies of God, USA. Here’s a clip:

Full video of Darrin’s speech can be found at the MRL website. Click here to read text of Mr. Wood’s official statement.

Video: Dr. John L. Yeats at Missouri Rally for Religious Liberty

Here are a few clips from Dr. John L. Yeats’ address at the Rally for Religious Liberty at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 27. Dr. Yeats is the Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Full video of Dr. Yeats’ speech can be found at the MRL website. You can read text of his official statement here.

Video: Archbishop Robert Carlson Addresses Enthusiastic Crowd Rallying for Religious Liberty at MO Capitol

We are slowly uploading video on to our YouTube channel of the speakers from yesterday’s Rally for Religious Liberty. First up is the address from St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson:

Hi res video of Bishop Carlson’s speech can be found at the MRL website. Read text of the Bishop’s official statement here.

Thousands Rally for Religious Freedom at MO State Capitol

Commenting on yesterday’s successful Rally for Religious Freedom at the Missouri State Capitol, Missouri Right to Life President, Pam Fichter, said, “Today was truly an historical and inspirational day.  Thousands of pro-life Missourians came together at the Capitol to take a stand for religious freedom.  Leaders from many Christian faiths pledged to never given in to government coercion that strips us of our right to practice our faith and exercise our own religious conscience.”

Thanks to everyone who turned out! Below are some pictures from the rally. See more at the MRL Facebook Page. We will have video and transcripts of all of the speakers coming soon!

Photo by: Julie Smith/Jefferson City News Tribune

Click the images below to enlarge (all images courtesy MRL Treasurer, Chelsea Zimmerman):

Missouri Right to Life Vice-President Steve Rupp

Bishop John Gaydos of the Diocese of Jefferson City gives the invocation.

Dr. John L. Yeats – Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention

Darrin Rodgers, director of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, reads a statement from George O. Wood, superintendent of the General Council of Assemblies of God, USA

Maggie Karner – Director of Life and Health Ministries for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Archbishop Robert Carlson — Archdiocese of St. Louis

Crowd pictures via: Jeff City News Tribune and Springfield News Leader