Contact: Virginia Cline, Heartbeat International, 614-885-7577
WASHINGTON, Mar. 6 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Obama administration published its official request to rescind the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulation that clarifies that healthcare professionals have a right to conscience and should not be forced to participate in aborting a baby, or other medical services, that offend their moral convictions.
"President Obama is working to deprive the country of medical professionals who use their consciences when treating their patients," said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. "Women, babies, and families deserve conscientious healthcare by doctors who believe in the sanctity of human life. It is wrong for the U.S. government to condemn doctors who follow the Hippocratic principle of 'do no harm'. This is un-American."
"The reversal of this regulation could cause conscientious doctors to stop practicing medicine leaving a significant void in the availability of healthcare providers. And the problem will be compounded if the government attempts to force Catholic hospitals to offer abortion." said Hartshorn. "Please email HHS to stop Obama's first attempt to purge healthcare of all people with religious or moral objections to taking human life."
The official publication in the Federal Register indicates: "The [HHS] Department is proposing to rescind in its entirety the final rule entitled 'Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law,' published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2008."
HHS will accept public comment for 30 days beginning Tuesday, March 10. Please send an email to proposedrescission@hhs.gov indicating that the December 19, 2008 regulation (73 FR 78072, 45 CFR Part 88) should not be rescinded.
Heartbeat International affiliates provide all the facts on abortion - from post-traumatic stress disorder to possible medical complications - that abortion clinics often leave out. Heartbeat affiliates provide emotional support and practical help needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy. They set the standard for true reproductive healthcare for women in America.
Heartbeat International (www.HeartbeatInternational.org), founded in 1971, is an interdenominational Christian association of nearly 1,100 pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, and medical clinics in 48 states and 43 other countries saving approximately 2,00 babies each week. Heartbeat provides www.OptionLine.org (800-395-HELP) to connect women with the local pregnancy help center for the resources and hope they need to choose life for their unborn children.
Contact Virginia Cline, 614-885-7577, to arrange an interview with Heartbeat President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D.
