ALERT: The Obama Administration via the Department of Health and Human Services is moving quickly to overturn important federal regulations that protect health care professionals who act according to their deeply held personal convictions. The 2008 regulation implements and enforces three federal laws protecting the conscience rights of health care providers, especially those at risk of being discriminated against because of their moral or religious objection to abortion.Thus the current regulations make sure doctors, nurses, and pharmacists can uphold their personal beliefs while practicing medicine—without facing discrimination or retribution in the workplace. This problem is a serious one, as real health care providers have been fired and denied opportunities because of their desire to not participate in procedures, such as abortions, that violate their consciences. No matter how you feel about specific medical procedures, we can all agree that the freedom to work in accord with one's conscience must be protected.
As they did when the conscience regulation was first proposed, pro-abortion groups are again trying to flood HHS with comments attacking conscience rights. Their chief message: Rescind the regulation because conscience clauses (which they call “refusal” or “denial” clauses) interfere with women’s “access” to health care. These groups want to force doctors, nurses and hospitals to violate their consciences or leave the profession.
Although the rescission proposal was published in the Federal Register on March 10, most of the general public outside of the health care profession did not notice this was being proposed. The public only has until close of business on April 9 (two more days) to submit comments!
URGENT: Send your comment to HHS in one of the following ways & Share this with your friends and family:
- Online through A Doctor's Right.
- Online through Regulations.gov (check “Select to find documents” and then enter “Rescission Proposal”).
- E-mail to proposedrescission@hhs.gov (not necessarily the best option)
Suggested Message: “Please retain the conscience regulation, and enforce the laws protecting the right of health care providers to serve patients without violating their moral and religious convictions. The government has a special responsibility to ensure that the conscience rights of health care providers are fully protected.”
Some other general points to consider besides the facts above:
- Religious liberty and freedom of conscience have been building blocks of our society since its founding. We respect conscientious objection for those opposed to war, physicians opposed to taking part in capital punishment, and others who object to involvement in the taking of life. We can do no less in the context of abortion.
- Conscience protection does not threaten access to health care. Allowing health care providers to serve the public without violating their consciences protects and enhances access to health care, by ensuring continued participation by some of our most dedicated health professionals. Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran and other faith-based providers are specially called to serve the poorest and most vulnerable, from the inner city to remote rural areas – if they are driven away, who will replace them?
- Abortion, in particular, cannot be seen as “standard” health care. Most physicians, nurses and hospitals choose not to provide abortion, and the Hippocratic Oath that established medicine as a profession has rejected abortion for many centuries. Forcing health professionals to be involved in abortion against their will shows a distorted sense of priorities—one that will irreparably damage the healing professions and undermine efforts to work together for health care reform. See Also:
- Protection of Health Care Providers’ Right of Conscience: What Federal Law Says
- Obama Administration: Rolling Back Conscience Protections for Doctors, Nurses
- Removing Conscience Rights: A Dangerous Prescription in Health Care
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