Doctors resist attempt to force them to do abortions

By WND Staff

Christian doctors are opposing an attempt by the left in several states to force them to do abortions in violation of their beliefs and conscience.

The non-profit legal group Becket said Dr. Regina Frost and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations are part of an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of a ruling by a New York judge that struck down a Trump administration rule that protects conscience rights for doctors and other health professionals.

Becket noted the Department of Housing and Human Services in May issued a conscience rule “to better enforce longstanding, bipartisan laws that, for decades, have promised to allow religious doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals to serve patients without being required to violate their consciences.”.

Planned Parenthood and several states, including New York, sued, and a federal court on Nov. 6, 2019, struck down the Conscience Rule.

Becket explained the rule would hold HHS funding recipients “to agreements that they made under existing federal statutes to accommodate religious health professionals.”

“My faith is at the heart of who I am. It is what drives me to put the needs of women and their children first every day, and to serve everyone in my care with dignity and respect,” Frost said in a statement released by her advisers.

“If the government forces me to violate my faith and my medical judgment to perform abortions, I will have no choice but to leave the profession I love and the patients I serve.”

Frost is an OB-GYN and one of nearly 19,000 medical professionals in CMDA serving vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad, Becket said.

“Across the country, CMDA members serve the homeless, prisoners living with HIV, and victims of opioid addiction, sex trafficking, and gang violence. Overseas, CMDA members serve in war zones, refugee clinics, and remote areas without quality healthcare,” Becket said.

“Like an ideological Grinch stealing conscience rights, Planned Parenthood is robbing not only religious doctors and nurses but also the patients that they serve,” said Daniel Blomberg, senior counsel at Becket. “To hear Planned Parenthood tell it, one pro-life OB-GYN is one too many. That’s wrong and it’s bad for healthcare. In a big, diverse country like ours, we can ensure that everyone will receive the care they need while still respecting the consciences of religious doctors and nurses.”

An Obama-appointed federal judge in New York struck down the rule.

District Judge Paul Engelmayer decided the rule violated the U.S. Constitution’s spending clause by allowing the administration to withhold congressional funds from employers who don’t comply, the Hill reported.

Supporters of the rule emphasized at that time its importance in protecting religious liberty.

“This decision leaves health care professionals across America vulnerable to being forced to perform, facilitate, or refer for procedures that violate their conscience, said Stephanie Taub, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, in a statement.

She argued the HHS rule “would ensure that health-care professionals are free to work consistent with their religious beliefs while providing the best care to their patients.”

When the rule was proposed in May, HHS official Roger Severino said it “ensures that health care entities and professionals won’t be bullied out of the health-care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life.”

The Trump administration also has cut off federal funding for abortion under the Title X family planning program.

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