Action Alert: Help Maintain Pro-Life Medical Professionals Conscience Protections!

Last summer we alerted you to the public comment period offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, which sought feedback on its proposed new rules protecting the consciences of medical healthcare providers not to perform procedures or services that violated their religious faith. Thanks to thousands of grassroots, pro-life Virginians and others around the country, the Bush administration implemented the proposed rules in December. These regulations now have the effect of the law of the land.

However, the new Obama Administration is seeking to dismantle these conscience protections and now it has begun a public comment period seeking feedback on whether to discontinue, modify or water down these just regulations that protect thousands of pro-life medical professionals.

I’m asking you today to participate in this crucial process. The public comment period is only 30 days and has already begun! Comments must be received by April 9. (See our blog commentary here: www.familyfoundationblog.com/?p=1615.)

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment has made it easy to write HHS. It has devised an Action Alert explaining why the regulations should be retained and providing directions on how to submit comments. E-mail messages can be sent to HHS directly through the NCHLA Action Center. A preset message is provided to which the sender can add personal comments. Click here to access the NCHLA Action Center:

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also has set up a special Web site that provides a wealth of information and resources on conscience protection, including a link to the NCHLA Action Center. We encourage you to visit that site and others to fully arm yourself on the issue. Click here: www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection.

This is an urgent matter and it would be a tragedy if all the hard work over the last several years to secure these protections were swept away so quickly because of inaction. So please consider spreading the word by forwarding this e-mail, talking up the issue and, most visibly, ask your church to post the NCHLA and USCCB Web site links on its Web page and print them in their bulletins.

It will take every possible effort to counter the new administration’s pro-abortion initiatives. Pro-life Virginia activists responded in numbers to impress upon the Bush Administration how important these medical professional conscience protections are. A redoubled effort is required to convince the Obama Administration to retain them.

** Please forward this e-mail to friends and family who you think are interested in issues affecting traditional values and encourage them to sign up for alerts at www.familyfoundationblog.com/?page_id=162 **

Here’s more info. and another easy way to contact the president, if you prefer:

“Obama seeks to take away religious rights of doctors and health care providers who refuse to perform abortions
Urgent: send your e-mail to the White House today!

According to several news agencies, President Barack Obama will rescind the “conscience rule” that protects health workers who refuse to participate in abortions or other medical procedures that go against their moral and religious beliefs. If the rule is rescinded, doctors, nurses and other health care workers could lose their jobs or be punished professionally for adhering to their sincerely held religious convictions. Obama’s proposal would take away their religious freedom.

The current rule empowers federal health officials to cut off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, clinic, health plan, doctor’s office or other entity if it does not accommodate employees who exercise their right of conscience. It applies to more than 584,000 health care facilities.

The Obama administration is doing the bidding of pro-abortion advocacy groups who seek to penalize health care providers who refuse to participate in abortions.

According to The Washington Post, Obama administration officials stressed that the proposal will be subject to 30 days of public comment. That is why it is so very important for you to let the White House hear from you today.

Take Action”

http://capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=12821731&type=PR

NCHLA Action Center

Send E-mail

Protect Conscience Rights in Health Care: Retain Conscience Regulation

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is inviting public comment on a proposal to rescind an important December 2008 federal regulation. 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. For background, see: www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection. The rescission proposal was published in the Federal Register on March 10. See: nchla.org/docdisplay.asp?ID=233. The public has until April 9 to submit comments.

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. The Catholic community and others must speak out so this will not happen. Talking points:

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 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.
All persons are encouraged to submit comments. Health care professionals—hospital administrators, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, technicians, and the like—should submit examples or personal experiences where discrimination was or is a concern. Please write now urging the Administration to retain the regulation protecting conscience rights!

Action: An e-mail message can be sent through the NCHLA Action Center. Please click the button above. Comments can also be submitted electronically by e-mail to proposedrescission@hhs.gov or online through www.Regulations.gov (check “Select to find documents” and then enter “Rescission Proposal”). Comments also can be mailed. See instructions in the March 10 Federal Register cited above. In all comments, refer to “Rescission Proposal.”

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.”

When: Please submit your comments by close of business April 9, 2009. Thanks! 3/16/09

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