I noticed earlier this afternoon that the abortion activists I follow on Twitter were going crazy, hysterically pointing out that if the consciences of doctors and nurses were protected, that they would lose the ability to coerce healthcare providers into doing things they find morally reprehensible. A bit of searching led me to the cause of their angst—and a bit of very good news. From the New York Times:
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it was taking new steps to protect doctors, nurses and other health workers who have religious or moral objections to performing abortions or sex-change operations, or providing other medical services.
The move, one day before the annual March for Life in Washington, was a priority for anti-abortion groups.
Administration officials urged people to report discrimination to a new unit of the federal government: the conscience and religious freedom division of the office for civil rights at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Roger Severino, the director of the civil rights office, promised that he and his staff would thoroughly investigate every complaint.
For too long, Mr. Severino said, the federal government has ignored such complaints or treated them with “outright hostility.”
As I wrote earlier this week after Donald Trump declared January 16 to be “Religious Freedom Day,” when the president gets it right, he really gets it right—and again, I can’t help but contrast the actions of the Trump Administration with those of Justin Trudeau. Trudeau, of course, actually voted against conscience rights for doctors back in 2016 when Parliament was debating the implementation of Canada’s euthanasia law. When it comes to the political priorities of social conservatives, Trump has not merely paid lip service—he has taken real, significant steps to protect life and religious liberty. If only he’d stop tweeting and keep producing these sorts of policies, even many Never Trumpers would find themselves gratefully silent.
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For anyone interested, my book on The Culture War, which analyzes the journey our culture has taken from the way it was to the way it is and examines the Sexual Revolution, hook-up culture, the rise of the porn plague, abortion, commodity culture, euthanasia, and the gay rights movement, is available for sale here.
One thought on “The Trump Administration just announced conscience protections for pro-life healthcare providers”
Sam says:
It is not within the Canadian federal government’s power to protect physician’s conscience rights, either for abortion provision or physician assisted suicide provision. This is a provincial power.
Regardless of your feelings about Trudeau, even if he passed conscience rights, the law would have failed at the first challenge (plus the government has a duty to ensure all legislation is Charter proof, but that is not something that is consistently followed).
It is not within the Canadian federal government’s power to protect physician’s conscience rights, either for abortion provision or physician assisted suicide provision. This is a provincial power.
Regardless of your feelings about Trudeau, even if he passed conscience rights, the law would have failed at the first challenge (plus the government has a duty to ensure all legislation is Charter proof, but that is not something that is consistently followed).
For the record, Trump is either a rather large hypocrite, his position has radically “evolved” or he is pandering to the religious right on these issues:
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/trump-in-1999-i-am-very-pro-choice-480297539914