CV NEWS FEED // CatholicVote is encouraging its supporters to comment in opposition to a proposed rule change at the Biden Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that could lead to Catholic and other religious healthcare workers being compelled to participate in practices they believe to be immoral.
COMMENT: Tell HHS you object to taking rights away from healthcare workers
“In 2019, the Trump administration implemented a new federal regulation, called a rule, which strengthened conscience protections for Catholic healthcare workers,” CatholicVote stated. “It ensured that Catholic doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals could not be compelled to assist in procedures they believe are immoral, including abortion, transgender mutilation surgeries, sterilizations, assisted suicides, and others.”
The Trump-era rule “also strengthened protections for Catholic hospitals and other faith-based medical practices to be able to care for patients without being compelled to offer immoral procedures.”
Under the Biden administration, however, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra “has proposed rescinding the Trump rule and weakening these conscience protections.”
COMMENT: Tell HHS you object to taking rights away from healthcare workers
“Legal scholars warn that this change could result in firings of Catholic healthcare workers and jeopardize funding for Catholic hospitals,” CatholicVote stated.
The Biden administration is required to accept comments from the public on the rule. CatholicVote’s Quorum system allows Catholics to submit an official comment within minutes.
The page to submit a comment can be found here.
The comment period closes on March 6, 2023.
COMMENT: Tell HHS you object to taking rights away from healthcare workers
“Since day one of the Biden administration they have targeted people of faith, preferring rewarding sexual license at the cost of religious liberty,” said CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky. “Despite numerous Court decisions on this issue in favor of people of faith, Biden’s HHS still wants to force their morals, or lack of morals, on the American people.”
“By law, the administration must accept comments from the public,” CatholicVote’s Quorum page explains:
The box contains a pre-written message you can submit. However, we encourage you to put a comment in your own words. Identical comments will be treated by the administration as one. If you submit a comment which is significantly different, the Biden administration is required to read it. The more unique comments there are, the longer it will take them to implement these bad changes. You can edit or completely erase the pre-written comment as you see fit.
CatholicVote stated that medical professionals are especially invited “to speak about how important your conscience rights are in your practice of health care.”
COMMENT: Tell HHS you object to taking rights away from healthcare workers