HHS rule lets health care workers refuse care that violates religious beliefs

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a finalized "Conscience Rule" protecting health care professionals who refuse to provide care that violates their religious beliefs, such as performing abortions.

"The final rule fulfills President Trump's promise to promote and protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious liberty, a promise he made when he signed an executive order in May 2017 protecting religious liberty," HHS said in a statement announcing the finalized rule, which expands existing protections.

In 2017, Mr. Trump signed executive orders to "defend freedom of religion and speech in America." One of the directives gave the IRS discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits nonprofits such as churches and charities from "directly or indirectly" engaging in a political campaign.

<snip>

The American Medical Association called on HHS to withdraw the proposed conscience rule in April 2018, saying the rule "would function as a shield for people asserting objections on religious or moral grounds and could permit them to withhold care from already vulnerable groups."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/conscience-rule-hhs-finalizes-rule-protecting-health-care-workers-who-refuse-care-over-religious-beliefs/

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. No good filthy fucking traitors, this is NOT going to end well for ANY of us.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. So, somebody can refuse to care for SBC members because they

obviously don't obey the teachings of Jesus?

[kimbutgar]

3. Didn't jesus say heal the sick

And isn’t there a thing called the Hippocratic oath where health providers pledge to help sick people.

When I think this administration can’t get any lower they are now the at the earth’s core in their hate, hypocrisy and lying.

[FiveGoodMen]

24. Yes, and the current crop of Nazi-republicans hates everything about Jesus except the name

[turbinetree]

4. So if I walk in with my heart condition they can tell me NO......................based on their

fucking religion ....................so now the HHS has no fucking conscience or principles and they are now playing like they are a GOD...................and they have now injected there First amendment BS on me.......................

[SunSeeker]

23. They ignore the first part of the First Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."

[Chin music]

26. +1

Boom.

[cstanleytech]

30. Problem is it goes on after that to say "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" so they cannot

make a law that might force them into violating their religious beliefs.
Thats not to say I agree with this because I do not as imo if you are going to be a doctor, pharmacists, county clerk that registers marriages then you need to be prepared to do your job for everyone equally and if you cannot do that because of your religion then you should find another line of work.
That or go to work for a private business or company like a christian hospital for example if you will not fill certain prescriptions.

[SunSeeker]

33. Nothing is prohibiting anyone from exercising their religious beliefs.

Being a healthcare worker is not a religious belief. It is a job. Government has a right to regulate healthcare for the safety of all Americans.

Allowing bigoted wingnut healthcare workers to refuse to treat gay people is not allowing the free exercise of religion. The Bible does not call on anyone to be a doctor then refuse service to gay people. What such a rule does is discriminate against LGBTQ people.

[Jedi Guy]

35. Technically, though...

A Satanist doctor could decline to treat a Christian, and cite their beliefs as the justification. If that happened, this bullshit would be reversed before sundown. The wails of "but that's not what we meant!" would be priceless.

[icymist]

34. They won't tell you that's why you've been denied.

It'll be more like letting the patient take all the tests that indicate a bad heart and then the day they go to the check-in to get the surgery is when a denial of payment is produced. The letter stating this somehow got lost in the mail, but the insurance company DID send it. Honest! And also they also claim to have sent a copy to the health care provider. Meanwhile, since the insurance company has disagreed with five top cardiac doctors by looking at some pictures, they want all tests taken again. And again. And again. Until the patient dies.

[cstanleytech]

5. Any AMA member that tries to use this as a shield should be kicked out of the AMA for life with

no appeal.

[Chin music]

27. The same AMA that never said a word about the idiots

claims the other day that they kill babies after they clean and swaddle them, and had them to their parents for the thumbs up or the thumbs down? Some Drs are Ds...but most arent. They knock down the bucks.

[BarbD]

6. So, is there a disclaimer given to the patient?

Medical care can be withheld if the patient does not believe in the caregivers God?

[alwaysinasnit]

25. +1000 And the patient should be able to refuse treatment by these providers and then the provider

needs to offer an appropriate replacement.

[Ford_Prefect]

7. Can you hear the stampede of state and federal lawsuits over this one?

The separation violation is sooooooo naked and so unsupported in either law or medical doctrine.

[crazytown]

8. Great news for Johova Witnesses

[crazytown]

9. And if someone wants to refuse treatment for LGBTQ people?

[safeinOhio]

10. Anyone wearing a maga hat

Looks a little queer to me. Is that all I need?

[Delphinus]

11. This

pisses me off.

[Coventina]

12. Hello Satanists? Your cleanup is needed in this aisle!

Please declare that members of your church in the medical profession will refuse to treat members of any other religion but your own!

That should settle matters pretty quickly!

[Jedi Guy]

36. Had the exact same thought.

If a Satanist did that, this policy would be instantly reversed.

[Liberalhammer]

14. Refuse Republicans healthcare

I say that the medical people who do this should be doxxed and have their livelihood destroyed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. Trump Announces Finalized "Conscience Protections" For Health Care Providers Who Refuse LGBT Patient

Trump Announces Finalized “Conscience Protections” For Health Care Providers Who Refuse LGBT Patients

links to:

Health Care
Trump touts new faith-based protections for health-care workers at National Day of Prayer ceremony

By Ariana Eunjung Cha and
Sarah Pulliam Bailey May 2 at 3:19 PM
During a speech Thursday before faith leaders gathered for the National Day of Prayer, President Trump announced a new rule allowing health providers, insurers and employers to refuse to provide or pay for services such as abortion, sterilization or assisted suicide that they say violate their religious beliefs.

Conservative groups welcomed what they said were needed "protections” for health care workers, while LGBT and women’s groups warned the rule would lead to discrimination and drastically reduce services for already marginalized groups since providers might decline to offer certain treatments, or refuse to treat gay and transgender people.

“Religious liberty is a fundamental right, but it doesn’t include the right to discriminate or harm others,” said Louise Melling, deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union. “This rule threatens to prevent people from accessing critical medical care and may endanger people’s lives. … Medical standards, not religious belief, should guide medical care.”

Religious conservatives contend that such protections are needed in the face of increasing state and federal mandates and ineffectual enforcement{.} ... “Though these laws were passed on a bipartisan basis and have been policy for years, the previous administration did not fully enforce them, and now they are increasingly being violated,” said Archbishops Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kans. and Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, both chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Health care providers like New York nurse Cathy DeCarlo and medical trainees have been coerced into participating in the brutal act of abortion against their core beliefs, while churches and others who oppose abortion are being compelled by states like California to cover elective abortion—including late-term abortion—in their health plans.”

Trump’s remarks on the National Day of Prayer were the third time he has used the 77-year-old annual multifaith observance to make announcements addressing the concerns of Christian conservatives, who are a large part of his base. During his first year in office, he promised to make it easier for religious leaders to speak openly about politics. On Thursday, he said the Johnson Amendment, which prevents churches from endorsing political candidates, has been effectively eliminated, though it would take an act of Congress to officially strike it.
....

Ariana Eunjung Cha is a national reporter. She has previously served as The Post's bureau chief in Shanghai and San Francisco, and as a correspondent in Baghdad. Follow https://twitter.com/arianaeunjung

Sarah Pulliam Bailey is a religion reporter, covering how faith intersects with politics and culture. She runs The Washington Post's religion blog. Before joining The Post, she was a national correspondent based in New York City for Religion News Service. Follow https://twitter.com/spulliam

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Here's the rule:

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/final-conscience-rule.pdf

[keithbvadu2]

17. Many Catholics/Protestants feel that the other is not a true Christian.

Many Catholics/Protestants feel that the other is not a true Christian.

Make sure you belong to the right religion.

[Panich52]

18. His 2017 EO proves yet again Trump has never

read Constitution. But since the fundamentalists he panders to conveniently have blindness when it comes to Establishment Clause the unnecessary EO fits his suck-up-to-the-RW-radicals agenda.

[LanternWaste]

19. A healthcare worker that refuses to provide any valid medical care is...

A healthcare worker that refuses to provide any valid medical care is, by its very definition, not a healthcare worker. And let's be clear... if Kim Davis were a nurse, she'd be cheering this asinine, anti-science ruling so that in her puerile, petulant ignorance, she could refuse care to a gay patient. And that is the only point of this new law.

[SunSeeker]

21. Exactly. They do not meet the job requirements.

This is forcing an establishment of religion in violation of the Constitution, and endangering Americans' health.

[LanternWaste]

22. A shaman maybe.. but certainly not an RN or Dr (or any professional). nt

[SunSeeker]

20. 1st Am: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."

[Freethinker65]

28. Time to prepare a list of names of employees and employers that exercise this "right" to do harm

[chowder66]

29. They're just pissed they can't diddle the children that weren't born. nt

[BlueIdaho]

31. if You don't want to help the sick - get out.

Every healthcare worker takes an oath to care for those in their charge. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, hospital workers - you name it, they are all oath takers. If they want to pick and choose who they serve they should get a job selling hotdogs.

[idahoblue]

32. If you can't do the job, find another job!

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

37. Explicit disclaimers?

I do wonder if this will become a question in job interviews for all healthcare workers, or even for students applying for medical or nursing schools - What class of patients or procedures violate your religious beliefs?

Depending on their answer they might be refused employment or enrollment, or conversely be hired because they share the beliefs of the organization/school.

I could also see a requirement that healthcare providers explicitly advertise what populations or procedures they will not provide so people can chose their docs deliberately.

This allows for both freedom of “religion” and of consumer choice.

And it will show consequences for actions.

[Jake Stern]

38. Then it's up to the states to bar such discrimination

Start a drive to put "Johnson Amendments" in state constitutions.

[niyad]

39. FIND ANOTHER LINE OF WORK, YOU DAMNED ZEALOTS.

if your "sincerely held religious beliefs" interfere with your damned job, get another job, where we do not have to suffer the consequences of YOUR belief systems.

[demigoddess]

40. If they do not want to perform an abortion, they need to get out of OB/GYN and maybe go into

elder care and learn how to change their diapers. Or they could go into dentistry. We need more dentists to bring the costs down. or they could go into the fields that take care of our alimentary/ digestive systems.

[ck4829]

41. Kick