HHS Establishes Protections For Health Workers Who, On Religious Grounds, Refuse Care
- 6 years ago
The Department of Health and Human Services is establishing a new civil rights division that will provide protections to health workers who refuse care due to their religious and moral beliefs.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is establishing a new civil rights division that will provide protections to health workers who refuse care due to their religious and moral beliefs, reports the Washington Post. NPR notes that doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals would be shielded from repercussions should they decline to participate in abortion procedures or treat patients they see as living outside the boundaries of their faith. The new division has both supporters and opponents. "We think the Trump administration should set an example in enforcing the multiple conscience laws that have been passed since the 1970s to prevent the government from punishing people who have objections to participating in abortions," David Christensen, vice president of government affairs at the Family Research Council, commented. However, American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling expressed a different view, saying, "Medical standards, not religious belief, should guide medical care. Denying patients health care is not liberty." "Religious liberty gives you a right to your beliefs, but it doesn't give you the right to impose your beliefs on others or harm others, including to discriminate against others," she further commented. The White House announced the move on Thursday, according to ABC News.
"President Trump promised the American people that his administration would vigorously uphold the rights of conscience and religious freedom," acting secretary of HHS Eric Hargan noted. "That promise is being kept today."
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is establishing a new civil rights division that will provide protections to health workers who refuse care due to their religious and moral beliefs, reports the Washington Post. NPR notes that doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals would be shielded from repercussions should they decline to participate in abortion procedures or treat patients they see as living outside the boundaries of their faith. The new division has both supporters and opponents. "We think the Trump administration should set an example in enforcing the multiple conscience laws that have been passed since the 1970s to prevent the government from punishing people who have objections to participating in abortions," David Christensen, vice president of government affairs at the Family Research Council, commented. However, American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling expressed a different view, saying, "Medical standards, not religious belief, should guide medical care. Denying patients health care is not liberty." "Religious liberty gives you a right to your beliefs, but it doesn't give you the right to impose your beliefs on others or harm others, including to discriminate against others," she further commented. The White House announced the move on Thursday, according to ABC News.
"President Trump promised the American people that his administration would vigorously uphold the rights of conscience and religious freedom," acting secretary of HHS Eric Hargan noted. "That promise is being kept today."