There’s no one out there in the Catholic blogosphere that has an opinion on abortion and the ability of doctors to legally just say no, is there?
What? There is? OK.
We all know that the Obama administration is seeking to rescind conscience protection laws and as a result doctors, nurses and other medical personnel can be put under pressure to perform or refer for abortions or else they’ll have to find another line of work.
So if you want to help protect conscience rights since this is (or used to be) America and all, please take part in using your keyboard for something other than calling my brother Patrick awful names in the combox.
The public has been given 30 days to express their urgent support for the regulation. The comment period ends next week on Thursday, April 9. HHS is required to read and count every message they receive.
Please make your voice heard on this important issue. Click here to go to the USCCB website and make your voice heard.
If you want put what you wrote on the USCCB website here as well, please feel free.
April 3, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Thanks, guys!
That was quick and easy…
April 3, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Signed and sent. Thanks! I’m adding this to my blog as well.
April 3, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Thanks for putting the link here.
This is what I wrote. The text in the middle is provided by the site.
Dear [System will insert the recipient’s name here]:
Doctors and nurses whose lives are founded on love of God and love of man because he is made in the image of God, are the most valuable asset our health care system could have, because they do their work not only for personal gain but out of a moral imperative to serve. These are the people who will have to leave the health care professions if they cannot refuse to participate in killing human beings at the earliest and last stages of life.Please retain the conscience regulation, and enforce current laws protecting the right of health care providers to serve patients without violating their moral and religious convictions. The right of conscience protected by existing federal laws is inviolable. Weakening protection for this right will harm the ethical integrity of our healing professions, drive caring people out of these professions, and reduce patients’ access to much-needed basic health care.If you make it impossible for doctors and nurses who are guided by conscience to practice, you will be left with those guided either by utilitarian notions, or by self interest only.
When you are the patient, in whose hands would you want to be?
Sincerely,
Susan F. Peterson
April 3, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t one of the arguments against the concern over FOCA was that it wouldn’t overrule freedom of conscience clauses? Now, FOCA is still threatening, as several Congresscritters would like to bring it back for a vote this year, and there may not be a conscience clause to protect Catholic hospitals and medical professionals. I don’t Pres. Obama went back on his word to Planned Parenthood about passing FOCA, he just realized that it’d take a little longer than he expected.