HHS Protects the Right of Conscience

At the end of August, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, announced that HHS was moving forward with new regulations regarding the right of conscience for health workers.  The proposed regulations provide greater protection for health workers working in facilities that receive federal dollars who refused to participate in any actions that would end the life of an unborn child.

'Freedom of conscience is not to be surrendered upon issuance of a medical degree," said Leavitt.  "This nation was built on a foundation of free speech.  The first principle of free speech is protected conscience.'

The new regulations cover almost 600,000 health care workers and they are stringent.  Any hospital, doctor's office or other health care provider that does not comply with the new regulations will lose their federal funding.  This is a great move in the right direction and an issue that I have been involved in for years as our lawyers have litigated conscience clause cases in court and helped Congressmen Henry Hyde and Dave Weldon craft the Hyde-Weldon Conscience Clause that was signed into law in 2005.

Obviously, Planned Parenthood, NARAL and others from the abortion on demand crowd are vowing to fight the new regulations and have begun to flood HHS with thousands of comments from their supporters in opposition to the proposed regulations. 

We need to fight fire with fire.  I need you to email in your comments to HHS today.  We have until September 25th and I need thousands of you to email your support of the new regulations to HHS.  The best way to do this is via e-mail to consciencecomment@hhs.gov.  Let HHS know that you support the new regulations as well as the conscience rights of health care providers.