HHS Provider 'Conscience' Rule Violates Patients' Rights, Editorial Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Women's Health / Gynecology;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 08 Jan 2009 - 1:00 PST

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President-elect Barack Obama "can thank the Bush administration for putting one more item on his to-do list," with the administration's "latest parting shot" coming in the form of the new HHS provider "conscience" rule, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial states. It continues, "Current law long has allowed doctors, nurses and others to refuse to take part in abortions if their religious beliefs dictate, but this new so-called 'conscience protection' will be extended to everyone involved in health care, including office receptionists and volunteers." Although abortion is the "first procedure that comes to mind" regarding the rule, it is "not the only one by any means," the editorial says, adding that contraception, HIV/AIDS testing and fertility treatments also could be affected.

"Under the cloak of protecting the religious rights of health care workers, the new regulation potentially violates the rights of patients to appropriate and complete medical information," according to the editorial. Currently, clinics that receive federal funding are required to advise pregnant women "of all options" -- including abortion, adoption and carrying the fetus to term -- but "[u]nder the revision, clinics that have no intention of doing so nonetheless may apply for taxpayer support," the editorial says. It adds, "Like it or not, a woman's right to choose remains protected under the law of the land." The "vague language" of the rule also has "left clinic operators wondering whether it means they won't be able to ask potential employees about their views in order to ascertain whether they would perform their work in concert with the organization's views and objectives," the editorial states. After the inauguration, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) -- Obama's nominee for HHS secretary -- "could restart the rule-making process and undo the Bush administration's intention," according to the editorial. The editorial concludes that this "seems the quickest way to offset the harm that this misguided regulation would accomplish" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/6).

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