At the prompting of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which has already been exposed as playing a covert role in promoting the interests of the military-medical complex (http://www.naturalnews.com/033455_Institute_of_Medicine_vaccines.html), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued new guidelines mandating that all college-age women have free access to sterilization procedures.

Building upon the agency’s announcement just a few weeks prior that all private insurance companies would be required to provide contraceptive services, including sterilization, to patients as part of Obamacare (http://www.naturalnews.com), the new sterilization guidelines will reportedly apply to all women of college age, regardless of whether or not they are enrolled in college, and to all health plans.

Even private or religious colleges that morally object to providing abortion drugs and procedures, which are also included in the mandate, will be required to provide access to these services under their health insurance plans. According to HHS, forcing this mandate somehow constitutes “consumer protection,” and the agency actually claims that requiring Christian colleges, for instance, to provide health care coverage that includes these questionable services constitutes “religious liberty.”

The mandate, which was published in the Federal Register on March 21, 2012, was crafted by IOM and reportedly adopted verbatim by HHS. As to the reason for the mandate, HHS has stated that “the HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) Guidelines require coverage, without cost sharing, for ‘[a]ll Food and Drug Administration [(FDA)] approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity,’ as prescribed by a provider.”

When questioned about the legitimacy of the mandate at a recent meeting with reporters at the U.S. Capitol, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) claimed ignorance on the matter. In a statement, Hoyer said he did not know anything about the sterilization mandate, but also stated that he did not support such an idea (http://cnsnews.com).

In protest of the mandate, defenders of religious freedom plan to hold simultaneous rallies at 140 cities across the country on March 23, 2012 at noon. The cities involved with this Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom include St. Louis, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa; Redding, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada. You can view a complete list of cities here: http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/locations/

Sources for this article include:

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/03/20120316g.html

http://cnsnews.com