Al Franken: “I would like to talk for a moment about religious freedom. Our country was founded on the belief that all Americans…”

“I would like to talk for a moment about religious freedom. Our country was founded on the belief that all Americans should have the right to practice their religious beliefs as long as their faith does not infringe on the rights of others. This concept, which is, I have the freedom to stretch out my hand as far as I can unless I punch Hannah here in the face--I do not have the freedom to do that; that is impinging on Hannah's rights--actually pertains to more than just freedom of religion but our basic concepts of what people's rights are, and this is an idea that is woven through our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. I have the right to choose my profession, where I live, and I have a right to choose my doctor according to my own faith, but I do not have the right to choose yours. When we wrote the health reform bill, we made sure to account for this balance. The health reform law required insurance companies to cover preventive health benefits without copays, and we asked the Institute of Medicine to study which preventive health benefits should be included. Last summer, the IOM--the Institute of Medicine-- recommended to the Department of Health and Human Services that contraceptives should be covered, along with cancer screening, screening for domestic violence, and many other services that have been shown to improve women's health.…”