Abortion and Catholic Hospitals

The New York Times reported on Saturday that "House and Senate negotiators have tucked a potentially far-reaching anti-abortion provision into a $388 billion must-pass spending bill, complicating plans for Congress to wrap up its business and adjourn for the year."  The provision in question "would bar federal, state and local agencies from withholding taxpayer money from health care providers that refuse to provide or pay for abortions or refuse to offer abortion counseling or referrals.  Current federal law, aimed at protecting Roman Catholic doctors, provides such 'conscience protection' to doctors who do not want to undergo abortion training. The new language would expand that protection to all health care providers, including hospitals, doctors, clinics and insurers."  (Why the scare quotes around "conscience protection," I wonder?).

According to Senator Barbara Boxer, the conscience-protection provision would "tak[e] rights from women."  Similarly, Louise Melling, director of the Reproductive Freedom Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that it would "effectively strip states of their right to 'enforce laws that were designed to protect women's health.'"

I find it striking, and troubling, that even firmly pro-abortion-rights legislators and activists appear unwilling to concede the serious freedom-of-conscience and religious-freedom values that are at stake in these "laws that were designed to protect women's health," i.e., laws that require training in, and provision of, elective abortions.

Rick

UPDATE:  "Scrappleface" has the inside scoop on Senator Boxer's planned response to the conscience provision.