The Biden administration is rolling back Trump-era policies that protected medical workers who refused to perform abortions and other services that conflicted with their religious and moral convictions.
The final rule, published by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), rescinds parts of former President Donald Trump’s 2019 policy that took away federal funding from health facilities that required employees to provide services they objected to.
“The Federal health care conscience protection statutes represent Congress' attempt to strike a careful balance between maintaining access to health care on the one hand and honoring religious beliefs and moral convictions on the other,” the agency wrote.
“Some doctors, nurses, and hospitals, for example, object for religious or moral reasons to providing or referring for abortions or assisted suicide, among other procedures. Respecting such objections honors liberty and human dignity. Patients also have rights and health needs, sometimes urgent ones. The Department will continue to respect the balance Congress struck, work to ensure individuals understand their conscience rights, and enforce the law,” it added.
Roger Severino, who was the director of OCR under Trump, told the Washington Examiner: “Everywhere they can and have now declared, effectively declared open season on people of faith who dissent, especially in the medical field.”
“Everywhere they could, they have inserted abortion politics into the healthcare system,” Severino added. “They’ve abandoned enforcement of these conscience protection laws.”
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The rule noted that many people pointed out that conscience-based refusals “negatively impacted the LGBTQI+ community,” which includes irreversible sex reassignment surgery.
In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, prompting many pro-life states to enact laws protecting the unborn, which Townhall covered. Since then, the Biden administration has vowed to make abortion a top priority going into the 2024 election. Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she would embark on a cross-country tour focused on abortion rights ahead of the 2024 election, which Townhall covered.
“There is a full-on attack in our country against the ability of people to just make decisions about their own body and their life,” Harris said in a video announcing the tour.
Additionally, over 20 states have passed laws banning experimental, irreversible so-called “gender-affirming” care for minors. The latest state to do this is Louisiana, and Ohio’s governor passed a similar Executive Order.
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