Congressional Republicans, led by Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, are reportedly fighting a proposed Department of Health and Human Services rule related to procedures like abortion and sex-changes — arguing it doesn't protect the conscience rights of anti-abortion doctors.
In a letter, the lawmakers made their case against the filing to "partially rescind" a rule titled "Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes" in order to eliminate protections HHS deemed "redundant or confusing."
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra issued the proposed rule in January to roll back a Trump administration guideline giving medical providers broad protections against orders to participate in abortions, sex-change assignments, and other procedures that defy their conscience.
In a statement in December, Becerra argued a return to Obama-era protections would "ensur[e] access to care for all in keeping with the law."
But the Daily Caller, which flagged the letter, reported that conservatives worry the guidelines don't adequately enforce conscience rules passed by Congress.
"Religious diversity adds to the strength of our society and medical field, and no doctor should have to choose between giving up his or her faith or moral convictions and abandoning a vital medical mission," 26 Republicans wrote in their comment about the proposed rule and submitted Monday.
"Without sufficient enforcement by HHS, doctors and nurses lack a crucial tool to ensure that the protections that Congress enacted are implemented and enforced,"
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., a medical doctor, is the lead co-signer in the House.
The Republicans noted two cases in which abortion opponents were forced to participate in the procedures, the Daily Caller noted.
The California Department of Managed Care, which regulates healthcare plans in the state, required all plans available in the state to cover abortion.
But despite lawsuits from Catholic- and evangelical-affiliated healthcare providers, the HHS Office of Civil Rights declined to enforce laws like the Weldon Amendment that prohibit the federal government from funding healthcare entities that discriminate based on abortion coverage, the Daily Caller reported.
In the second case, the University of Vermont Medical Center allegedly required 10 nurses who opposed abortion to participate in the procedure about 20 times. The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the hospital in late 2020; the Biden administration dropped it in 2021, the Daily Caller reported.
Becerra, who served as California Attorney General from 2017 to 2021, argued to the Supreme Court that the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns, should be required to fill out a waiver form or cover contraception for their employees.
"People should not have to surrender their faith or conscience at work. In this tough economy, the Biden administration has deliberately ignored the rights of workers over the desires of employers, even if employers demanded their employees violate their own conscience or faith," Lankford told the Daily Caller.
"People have the right to live their own values, not the values of administration officials."
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