Bush Administration 'Ignores Experts' On Proposed HHS Conscience Rule, Editorial Says

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Abortion;  Sexual Health / STDs;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 21 Nov 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Choosing to "ignore the experts," the Bush administration plans to move forward with a proposed HHS rule that allows health care providers to opt out of care based on their moral or religious beliefs, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial says. According to the editorial, the administration argues that the rule will ease "confusion" among health care workers about their rights to refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures, "but it offers little to support the claim." The editorial notes that three federal statutes and numerous state laws already protect "so-called 'provider conscience rights.'" It continues, "If awareness truly is the problem this rule aims to solve, an education campaign aimed at the workers would make more sense than layering new regulation on top of existing law. The fact that the administration isn't pursuing this course suggests the fears of its critics are warranted."

By choosing to pursue the regulations, the Bush administration "is ignoring organizations that represent the very employees whose rights it says it is trying to protect," including the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Hospital Association and other groups, according to the editorial. Officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also oppose the change and have said that they were not consulted before the rule was drafted.

The editorial continues, "Women's health advocates are worried that the regulation leaves the door open for too much interpretation about what constitutes an abortion since the regulation does not define it," noting that some groups "consider the use of contraceptives tantamount to abortion." The editorial adds that the rule "takes the rights of patients out of the equation."

Although President-elect Barack Obama has said he would rescind the rule if it is implemented, the editorial warns that it could be months before this occurs. It concludes, "It's too late for the Bush White House to be making major policy changes that only will mean time wasted to undo them after Jan. 20" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/20).

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