Constitutional Law

New Federal Rule Seen As Broad Assault On Certain Healthcare Services

A new Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation would reach well beyond protecting physicians and nurses who refuse to provide abortions. The so-called “right of conscience” regulation that the Bush administration is working to implement before its term expires, is aimed at covering more healthcare workers who cite religious or moral objections to an array of medical procedures, such as abortions and artificial insemination, the Los Angeles Times reported. The newspaper noted that for more than 30 years, federal law has allowed physicians and nurses to refuse to provide abortions and that the new proposed regulation would apply to “any entity” receiving federal funds. According to HHS officials 584,000 entities, including hospitals, physician’s offices and pharmacies, may well be covered by the new rule, which the administration hopes to finalize before President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. Additionally, the newspaper reported that the new regulation “would go further by making clear that healthcare workers also may refuse to provide information or advice to patients who might want an abortion.”

The newspaper noted that the new HHS regulation has received support from religious groups, such as the Christian Medical Association (CMA) and the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops. David Stevens, head of the CMA, told the Los Angeles Times that, “The real battle line is the morning-after pill. Doctors should not be required to dispense medication they have a moral objection to.”

Groups and institutions, such as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) have argued against the new regulation, saying it places health workers’ religious beliefs before patients’ health. The ACOG’s Committee on Ethics wrote that, “Although respect for conscience is important, conscientious refusals should be limited if they constitute an imposition of religious or moral beliefs on patients [or] negatively affect a patient’s health.”

Full post as published by ACS Blog on December 02, 2008 (boomark / email).