As today is World Health Day, I thought you’d be interested in this item from Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. See his letter below.
President Barack Obama is proposing regulations to strike or weaken current policies implemented by the then-Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Mike Leavitt. The policies protect the conscience rights of health care workers. Congress has passed numerous laws over the past 35 years protecting such rights; however, no regulations had ever been implemented until Jan. 20, 2009 when regulations were put into effect to defend the conscience rights of healthcare workers. These regulations, which President Obama is planning to rescind, would ensure that programs that receive federal funds, including federal, state and local government programs, do not discriminate against health care workers who object to participating in such practices as abortion and sterilization.
We need you to write HHS in support of these regulations, and encourage them to enforce current laws. Groups like Planned Parenthood have already supplied thousands of comments to the HHS asking them to rescind these pro-conscience regulations. The deadline for submitting comments is this Thursday, April 9, 2009.
If possible, describe fully any case in which you or someone you know has experienced discrimination against your conscience related to a health procedure, including but not limited to the performance of abortion.
-Tony Perkins
