Conscience Creep
Dahlia Lithwick of Slate explores the proliferation of conscience clauses, caveats to certain legislation that allow exemptions for religious or ethical reasons. Recently, these clauses have been attached to numerous bills, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), abortion laws, adoption regulations, and more. “If conscience clauses,” Lithwick writes, “are the vehicle by which we are going to end-run the most fundamental aspects of the social welfare state, lets [sic] at least start from the basic principle that all of us have a conscience, and take it from there.” Lithwick also cites Washington University in St. Louis’ Elizabeth Sepper, who has written about conscientious exemptions to ACA for R&P.