Washington, D.C. —First Liberty Institute attorneys today submitted public comments on behalf of several religious ministries in support of new United States Health and Human Services (“HHS”) guidelines that ensure the protection of conscience rights for healthcare professionals.
“Without conscience protections, health care professionals across America risk discrimination for refusing to perform, facilitate, or refer for procedures that they believe are unethical,” said Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel. “The proposed HHS rules will serve to protect the rights of healthcare professionals to uphold the tenets of the Hippocratic Oath and the ethical integrity of the medical profession.”
The comments, drafted by First Liberty attorneys on behalf of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, the National Association of Catholic Nurses, U.S.A., the Thomas More Society, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance, supports efforts by the Trump administration to ensure that twenty-five presently existing laws protecting healthcare providers are implemented and enforced by HHS. The proposed guidelines provide significant conscience protections for those who hold religious or moral objections to abortion, sterilization, or euthanasia.
According to the comment, there has been “a rise in intolerance toward individuals seeking to exercise their conscience rights and a general lack of awareness about the conscience rights of healthcare practitioners. The sharp increase in administrative complaints over the past year shows that without an administrative enforcement mechanism, coercions of conscience may continue unchecked. Administrative enforcement is necessary to ensure that existing conscience statutes carry the force of law.”
To read the comments, click here.
To download a copy of this press release, click here.
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact Lacey McNiel at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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