Biden administration proposal would rescind Trump-era medical conscience provisions

The Biden administration last week proposed to reverse a Trump-era rule that increased the rights of medical workers to refuse to perform services that violate their religious or moral beliefs.

The new rule would partially rescind a 2019 rule that would have stripped federal funding from facilities that force workers to provide services that go against their personal moral or religious beliefs. The most common procedure objected to is abortion. The rule was blocked by three federal district courts in 2019, which prevented it from ever taking effect.

The new rule, if approved, would remove that stipulation from HHS policy and restrict the conscience freedoms of some medical workers. Laws about abortion have significantly changed since the rule was instituted in 2019. States now can restrict the procedure following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The proposal would “restore the longstanding process for the handling of conscience complaints and provide additional safeguards to protect against conscience and religious discrimination,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Some doctors, nurses and hospitals, for example, object for religious or moral reasons to providing or referring for abortions or assisted suicide, among other procedures,” the proposal says. “Respecting such objections honors liberty and human dignity. It also redounds to the benefit of the medical profession”.

But at the same time, “patients also have autonomy, rights and moral and religious convictions. And they have health needs, sometime urgent ones. Our health care systems must effectively deliver services to all who need them in order to protect patients’ health and dignity.”

Many progressive groups support the proposed rule.

“At a time when health care access is under attack across the country, it is even more imperative that this illegal and harmful rule be repealed,” says Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “Other people’s beliefs do not give them license to discriminate, to deny essential care or to cause harm to others.”

The proposed rule seeks to balance the rights of both providers and patients, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says.

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“No one should be discriminated against because of their religious or moral beliefs, especially when they are seeking or providing care,” he says. “The proposed rule strengthens protections for people with religious or moral objections while also ensuring access to care for all in keeping with the law.”