On December 24, 2014, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published in the Federal Register an Interim Final Rule (IFR) on standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment involving unaccompanied children.
On February 20, 2015, joint comments on the IFR were filed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, World Vision, Inc., Catholic Relief Services, and World Relief. For an overview of the comments, see the press release, “Catholic and Evangelical Humanitarian Agencies Voice Concern Over Impact of Rule Regarding Unaccompanied Children,” at: www.usccb.org/news/2015/15-031.cfm.
The comments state that the IFR fails to adequately protect the various grantees and contractors in “providing, facilitating the provision of, providing information about, or referring or arranging for, items or procedures to which such organizations have a religious or moral objection.” In this regard two provisions stand out. First, unaccompanied children who are victims of sexual abuse must be provided with “timely, unimpeded access to…emergency contraception….” (Emphasis added). Second, if pregnancy results from an instance of sexual abuse, care provider facilities “must ensure that the victim receives timely and comprehensive information about all lawful pregnancy-related medical services and timely access to all lawful pregnancy-related medical services” (emphasis added). The comments state that “all” lawful pregnancy-related procedures apparently includes abortion.
The text of the rules includes no religious or moral exception. The preamble refers to various possible accommodations for organizations “even if they object to providing specific services on religious grounds.” The comments raise serious questions about the IFR approach and the various accommodations, and explain that accommodating for religious belief “is not only consistent with longstanding federal policy, but required as a matter of law.” The comments also review some problems with the preamble language.
With respect to the IFR and its implications regarding human sexuality, the comments requests that ORR ensure that grantees and contractors “remain free to act in accord with their religious beliefs and moral convictions….”
The comments conclude: “We welcome the opportunity to meet and work with ORR in developing an appropriate way forward. We believe that, through practical discussions, we can find a resolution that allows the government to fulfill its obligation to care for unaccompanied children, while also respecting the religious and moral beliefs of faith-based organizations that, to date, have provided such critical care for this vulnerable population.”
The comments observe that six out of nine national refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S. are faith-based. These organizations resettle the majority of refugees entering the United States each year.
The full comments can be accessed at: www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/02-20-15-comments-UM.pdf.
