Speak up on conscience bill

Excerpted from "Lawmakers, medical workers speak up on conscience bill," Catholic News Agency, by Pauline Chen, MD. March 5, 2013--Members of Congress and individuals who have been forced to violate their consciences came together to stress the need for a federal law protecting religious freedom in the field of healthcare. Highlighting the importance of conscience protections for all individuals, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) Black spoke at a March 5 press conference in Washington D.C., following her introduction of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act the previous day. The legislation aims to protect the conscience rights of healthcare workers, employers and individuals who are morally opposed to cooperation with the provision of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion. Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R- Neb.) and John Flemming (R- La.), who are among 50 initial co-sponsors of the bill, also spoke at the press conference.

Flemming, who previously worked as a family physician, argued that there is “no excuse for this assault on our First Amendment Rights, no excuse for this assault on our conscience protections.” He described the protections of the “freedom of religion – which is really freedom of conscience” provided by the bill. The proposed law, Flemming explained, “applies a long-standing policy of conscience rights” to the Affordable Care Act, particularly its mandate requiring employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilizations and some early abortion drugs.In addition, the bill would protect healthcare workers from discrimination if they choose not to participate in procedures they find unconscionable. It would further give medical personnel specific standing in court, enabling them to file lawsuits if they are illegally forced to undergo abortion training and assistance against their conscience. This last provision of the legislation will protect individuals such as Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse who filed suit after she was forced to participate in the abortion of a 22-week-old pre-born infant or face termination of employment.

Congressman Fortenberry offered comments, saying that government should respect healthcare workers, recognizing that “the very purpose of healthcare is for healing, not to create ethical divisions.” He also quoted President Barack Obama – whose administration is responsible for the mandate – agreeing that “we should not leave our values at the door” and should protect those values in the law. “No American should be forced to choose between their faith and their job,” Fortenberry stressed. Click here to read full article.

Commentary

CMDA Member and Board Certified Obstetrics and Gynecology C. Brent Boles, MD: “Representative Diane Black is to be commended for her introduction of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. There are many settings in which individuals have been subject to discrimination, ridicule and even threats of termination of employment if they refuse to participate in activities that run contrary to their faith and to their conscience. As individuals, the most profound parts of our own identity and self-image are derived from our beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. For many people, this worldview is based on faith. The founders of our nation, the authors of our Constitution, saw the importance of religious freedom and chose to make a stand about that in the First Amendment. It was not the Second or the Eight or the Tenth--it was First and it was the foremost right in their minds. To force an individual to violate their own deeply held beliefs is to assault that individual in a most profound way. Representative Black and Representatives Fortenberry and Flemming deserve our gratitude and our support, as do the other co-sponsors of the bill. Those who share these concerns should most certainly take the time to contact their own individual congressmen and express their views."

Action
Use our Freedom2Care easy form to tell your U.S. Rep. to support the conscience rights bill

 

This Video Shows Moving Testimony of Nurse Forced to do Abortions
CMDA Ethics Statement: Right of Conscience
Right of Conscience Resources