for your consideration

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

-Edmund Burke

I would like to take a moment to make all who read this blog aware of the April 9th deadline to submit comments to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the impending removal of conscience protections for healthcare providers.

In December 2008 the Department of Health and Human services finalized a rule that "forbids discrimination against healthcare professionals who exercise their conscientious rights related to participation in certain controversial medical procedures--most notably, but not limited to, abortion and sterilization." (freedom2care.org)

This rule is about to be overturned.

Bottom line is healthcare providers will lose the right to refuse to participate in acts violating their consciences and face consequences that would follow if they do so.

Please consider writing now to ask the Administration to retain the regulation protecting conscience rights. Comments will be accepted until April 9th, 2009 at http://www.freedom2care.org/.

It takes just moments to register a comment, and comments are welcome from all citizens concerned about this threat to conscience.

A copy of the document from HHS outlining the conscience protection rights that will be overturned is available at the Freedom2Care.org website under the tab "Learn." There are 5 current conscience provisions that will be rescinded. You can read all five at the above mentioned website, and I am listing three of them here:

1) The first conscience provision provides that “[t]he receipt of any grant, contract, loan, or loan guarantee under [certain statutes implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services] . . . by any individual or entity does not authorize any court or any public official or other public authority to require”: (1) the individual to perform or assist in a sterilization procedure or an abortion, if it would be contrary to his/her religious beliefs or moral convictions; (2) the entity to make its facilities available for sterilization procedures or abortions, if the performance of sterilization pro cedures or abortions in the facilities is prohibited by the entity on the basis of religious beliefs or moral convictions; or (3) the entity to provide personnel for the performance of sterilization procedures or abortions, if it would be contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of such personnel.

2) The third conscience provision prohibits discrimination against any physician or other health care personnel in employment, promotion, termination of employment, or extension of staff or other privileges “because he performed or assisted in the performance of any lawful health service or research activity, or because he refused to perform or assist in the performance of any such service or activity on the grounds that his performance of such service or activity would be contrary to his religious beliefs or moral conv ictions, or because of his religious beliefs or moral convictions respecting any such service or activity.”

3) The fifth conscience provision prohibits any entity that receives a grant, contract, loan, or loan guarantee under certain Departmentally implemented statutes from denying admission to, or otherwise discriminating against, “any applicant (including for internships and residencies) for training or study because of the applicant’s reluctance, or willingness, to counsel, suggest, recommend, assist, or in any way participate in the performance of abortions or sterilizations contrary to or consistent with the applicant’s religious beliefs or moral convictions.”

Thank you for reading this, and for considering the urgent need to act on this matter. For more information, please visit http://www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection/index.shtml