Jeff Fortenberry: “Tonight's discussion is not about politics. It's not about partisanship. It's about principle. It's about an American…”

“Tonight's discussion is not about politics. It's not about partisanship. It's about principle. It's about an American ideal, an ideal so common, so ordinary that we don't think about it very much; yet this ideal is essential to a well-functioning, orderly, and just society. In fact, it should define the nature of the relationship between the government and her people. Mr. Speaker, when a person uses right reason and sound judgment when they believe something is right or wrong, that is a sacred space. That is called conscience. Conscience is inextricably intertwined with the inherent rights and dignity of all persons. It is, therefore, only just that governing authority have the highest level of sensitivity to upholding and protecting the person's free exercise of deeply held, reasoned beliefs. Mr. Speaker, I want to read two emails that I received from constituents back home. Katie, from Nebraska, says this to me: Please do everything in your power to ensure that our hospitals, service agencies, and universities are allowed to carry out their work unhindered by laws that go against their conscience. I do not want to see good agencies and businesses shut down because they were forced to choose between the law and their conscience. Karen McGivney-Lecht wrote to me and said this: As a woman's health practitioner and as a Catholic, I need the ability to stay within my faith boundaries.…”