Abortion rights advocates think it might be easier to get Democrats in Congress to reject the rule. Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington have said they will move to reverse it. The HHS proposal has set off a sharp debate about medical ethics and the duties of health care workers.
Last year, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology said a "patient's well-being must be paramount" when a conflict arises over the moral beliefs of a medical professional.
"Although respect for conscience is important, conscientious refusals should be limited if they constitute an imposition of religious or moral beliefs on patients [or] negatively affect a patient's health," the organization's Committee on Ethics said. It also said physicians have a "duty to refer patients in a timely manner to other providers if they do not feel that they can in conscience provide the standard reproductive services that patients request."
Leavitt said the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology threatened to brand as "unprofessional" those who do not share its attitudes toward abortion. In August, he criticized "the development of an environment in the health care field that is intolerant of individual conscience, certain religious beliefs, ethnic and cultural traditions and moral convictions."
In announcing its proposed rule, HHS said it was needed because of "an attitude that health care professionals should be required to provide or assist in the provision of medicine or procedures to which they object, or else risk being subjected to discrimination."
In a media briefing, Leavitt said the rule was focused on abortion, not contraception. But others said its broad language goes beyond abortion.
Judith Waxman, a lawyer for the National Women's Law Center, said Leavitt's office has extended the law far beyond what was understood before. "This goes way beyond abortion," she said. It could reach disputes over contraception, sperm donations and end-of-life care. "This kind of rule could wreak havoc in a hospital if any employee can declare they are not willing to do certain parts of their job," she said.
