GOP House Members Send Obama Letter Asking Him To Reinstate 'Conscience' Rule

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 21 May 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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House GOP members on Tuesday sent a letter to President Obama praising him for saying that he wants to "honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion" during his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame last weekend, The Hill reports. The Republican lawmakers -- Reps. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.), Chris Smith (N.J.) and John Fleming (La.) -- said Obama's speech indicated to them that he would reinstate the HHS provider "conscience" rule, which expanded the ability of health workers to refuse to provide services or information they objected to on moral or religious grounds and prohibited federal funding for health entities that do not comply.

In March, Obama began the process for rescinding the Bush-era rule, and it is currently undergoing a White House review. In the letter, the representatives said that they "agree with [Obama] that pro-life health care providers should have the right to refuse to participate in procedures that they find morally reprehensible." Smith said he has "renewed hope, hopefully not false" that Obama will "completely forgo the rescinding of this rule" after his remarks during Sunday's speech (Hooper, The Hill, 5/19).

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