According to a Wapo article, the Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing a draft regulation that would deny federal funding to any hospital, clinic, health plan or other entity that does not accommodate employees who want to opt out of participating in care that runs counter to their personal convictions, including providing birth-control pills, IUDs and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.
Conservative groups and abortion opponents are welcoming the initiative as necessary to safeguard doctors, nurses and other health workers who, they say, are increasingly facing discrimination because of their beliefs or are being coerced into delivering services they find repugnant. The proposal has sparked intense criticism and concern that the rule could have far-reaching, but less obvious, implications. For instance-- if a pharmacist is offended by birth control, they don't need to give you the Morning-After pill after you've been raped. If an ambulance driver objects to you being gay, they can refuse to help you after a heart attack. And if an emergency room worker is a Baptist and thinks that you're a pagan, they can presumably walk away as you lay dying on your gurney.
No comments:
Post a Comment