FAQ: What would happen if my doctor or hospital were forced out of business for following life-affirming ethical standards?
What would happen if my doctor or hospital were forced out of business for following life-affirming ethical standards?
Healthcare access is one of the key reasons why we all need to speak out to protect the conscience-protecting regulation.
Absent strong protections such as those contained in the conscience regulation, many faith-based health care providers and institutions may opt to limit the services they offer or and shut down entirely rather than be forced to perform or participate in abortions.
Many abortion advocates actually argue that health care professionals with conscientious objections to abortion should quit their positions and find other work. Without strong protections such as those contained in the conscience regulation, it is entirely plausible that physicians who refuse to violate their conscience might be forced to relocate, retire early, or shut their practices entirely.
Before the conscience-protecting regulation was instated, federal conscience-protecting laws were virtually unknown in the medical community, and routinely flouted. That's why, for example, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) felt bold enough to state that Ob-Gyn docs should either perform or refer for abortions, and why ABOG failed to produce an assurance that it would never de-certify docs who violated ACOG's ethical guidelines.
This is especially alarming for patients in rural and medically underserved areas who have to travel far to see a physician. Such areas are often only served by professionals and institutions motivated by their faith both to care for the poor and to honor human life at all stages.
