In a narrow 51-48 vote, liberal members of the U.S. Senate voted to table an amendment proposed by Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R) that would have provided conscience protection for religious employers in the HHS contraception mandate.

According to PJ Media, the motion to table the amendment was made by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and was supported by other pro-abortion senators who said the amendment would impede access to everything from HIV testing to childhood vaccinations.

But there were some surprising defections from this camp, such as the pro-abortion Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) who admitted to her colleagues that she was conflicted about the amendment. However, she felt that she had no choice but to support it because the White House failed to deliver promised protections for religious employers in the so-called “accommodation.”

“I believe that such a mandate poses a threat to our religious freedom,” Collins said on the Senate floor.  “The administration cannot assure me that religious freedoms are protected.”

One of her greatest concerns, she said, is how employers who self-insure are treated under the mandate.

“I feel that I have to vote for Sen. Blunt’s amendment in hope that it will be narrowed further and defined,” she said. “I do this with a lot of conflict …I feel that I have no choice.”

West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin also defected from the pro-abortion caucus to support the amendment.

“Well-intentioned people on both sides of this issue can respectfully disagree, but for me this comes down to our religious liberties,” Manchin said. “I truly believe that we must safeguard Americans’ right to exercise their sincerely held religious views, and I support this measure to protect that freedom of conscience.”

Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) was quick to make political hay out of the vote. “The closeness of this vote shows how high the stakes are for women this year,” he said. “A Republican-led Senate might pass this bill, a Republican president like Mitt Romney would definitely sign it. If Republicans keep this up, they’re going to drive away independent voters.”

Even though the bill failed, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the fight over the contraception mandate is not over.

“This is not a partisan issue; it is not a matter of politics; it is about upholding one of the bedrock principles upon which our great country was established,” Cornyn said. “This mandate violates a fundamental right that for centuries has made America a beacon of freedom in the world’s eye. It is an affront to the very fabric of our country, and I will keep fighting until it is fully revoked.”

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins denounced the 51 senators, led by Sen. Harry Reid, who “sacrificed the Constitutional right of religious liberty on the altar of the Obama administration’s radical big-government agenda. They turned a deaf ear to the very real religious and moral objections of millions of Americans and the First Amendment rights of all.”

He went on to praise Senators Joe Manchin, Robert Casey (D-PA) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) for standing up to their caucus and fighting for religious liberty.

“The President and Congress need to wake up and realize that they have run into an immovable wall of principle that religious liberties are still in fact fundamental rights in this country. No political machinations they attempt will surmount the unshakeable religious and moral convictions of those of us opposing this government mandate.”

He urged the House of Representatives to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR 1179) introduced by Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and promptly send this legislation back to the Senate for a vote.

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