Bush unveils ‘conscience protection’ rule

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration announced its “conscience protection” rule for the health care industry Thursday, giving everyone from doctors and hospitals to receptionists and volunteers in medical experiments the right to refuse to participate in medical care they find morally objectionable.

“This rule protects the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience,” said outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.

The right-to-refuse rule includes abortion, but Leavitt’s office said it extends to other aspects of health care where moral concerns could arise, including birth control, emergency contraception, in vitro fertilization, stem-cell research or assisted suicide.

The rule will be published today in the Federal Register, and it will take effect the day before President George W. Bush leaves office.

It also sets the stage for an early conflict in the Obama administration over the sensitive issue of abortion. In August, when Barack Obama was still a senator, he criticized the rule when it was proposed and said he was “committed to ensuring that the health and reproductive rights of women are protected.”

The rule reaches nearly all providers of health care, including hospitals, clinics, universities, doctor’s offices and pharmacies, and says they can be charged with discrimination if an employee is pressured to participate in care that is “contrary to their religious beliefs or moral convictions.” Violators would lose their federal funds.

Critics of the rule said it was too broad and threatened the rights of patients. They said they were particularly worried that patients would not be given full and complete information about their medical options.

For example, they said a doctor in a federally funded clinic could refuse to tell a pregnant patient that her fetus has a severe abnormality since this information might prompt her to seek an abortion. Similarly, health care workers in an emergency room could deny rape victims information about emergency contraception.

“This gives an open invitation to any doctor, nurse, receptionist, insurance plan or even hospital to refuse to provide information about birth control on the grounds that they believe contraception amounts to abortion,” said lawyers for the National Women’s Law Center.

They also pointed to the last minute nature of the change.

“We are shocked that the Bush administration chose to finalize its midnight regulation and to take this parting shot at women’s health and ignore patients’ rights to receive critical health-care services and information they deserve,” said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “We look forward to working with President-elect Obama and leaders in Congress to repeal this disastrous rule and expand patients’ access to full health-care information and services, not limit it.”

Asked about the rule Thursday, a spokesman for Obama’s transition team said the new president “will review all 11th-hour regulations and will address them once he is president.”

After Jan. 20, the Obama administration could begin the process of adopting a revised rule, but that would likely take many months. Instead, Congress could adopt a resolution that rejects the late rules adopted by the Bush administration.

Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said Thursday they would lead an effort to revoke the rule.

The U.S. Catholic Conference, the Christian Medical Association and Americans United for Life praised the new rules.