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Coverage of the Freedom2Care coalition and partners
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Calif. press conference 
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Poll results
Finally, something good to say about a healthcare reform bill
October 7, 2009 - Today the 16,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org), the nation's largest association of faith-based physicians, voiced support for the conscience-protecting provisions in the "Empowering Patients First Act," a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA 6th). CMA contended that the protections are needed to avoid a potentially catastrophic loss of faith-based healthcare on which millions of poor patients depend. Read blog entry
White House wrong on abortion funding: NRLC
National Right to Life Committee - Many members of Congress, and the President, have suggested that the Hyde Amendment will prevent federal government funding of abortion under H.R. 3200. This claim is entirely erroneous. Under H.R. 3200, the new federal insurance program (the "public option") will pay for elective abortion with federal government funds, and public funds will also directly subsidize private insurance plans that cover all abortions. Read full text
CMA physicians support conscience provisions to protect poor patients
September 30, 2009 - The 16,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org), the nation's largest association of faith-based physicians, today voiced support for the conscience-protecting provisions in the "Empowering Patients First Act," a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA 6th). CMA contended that the protections are needed to avoid a potentially catastrophic loss of faith-based healthcare on which millions of poor patients depend. Read CMA news release and letter
Washington Times: CMA commentary (Jonathan Imbody) on healthcare bills and abortion
September 21, 2009 - House and Senate health care bills are floundering because congressional leadership, mistakenly interpreting a vague "hope and change" sentiment among the electorate for a radical shift in American values, failed to discern the difference between "reforming" and "transforming" health care... read full commentary
Los Angeles Times: Abortion foes aren't buying Obama's assurances
Sep. 11, 2009 - "We think there is a very active effort to muddy the waters and to put out disinformation, and regrettably, the president has been part of that," said Johnson of National Right to Life.
Added Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life: "There is never going to be a bill that has 'abortion' written in capital letters with red arrows saying 'abortion here!' It's a technical issue that will come down to how the courts interpret it once it passes." Read full article
Human Events op-ed (Jonathan Imbody): "Health Care Chorus: Back in the U.S.S.R."
August 8, 2009 -"The government dictated what physicians must believe, and how they should practice."
Katrina Alexis Belova, a young American medical student from Ukraine, was lamenting the ironic parallels between old Soviet medicine and President Obama's health care policies. Full op-ed
FoxNews covers nurse's forced abortion-participation case by ADF
July 31, 2009 8:48:46 PM - "...she has filed a lawsuit claiming that she told the hospital when she was hired that she would not perform abortions because of her religious beliefs. Watch segment
Washington Times: N.Y. nurse sues after forced to aid abortion, says hospital violated conscience protections
July 31, 2009 - A Roman Catholic nurse who says she felt "violated and betrayed, like I had been raped" after being forced to take part in a second-trimester abortion is suing a New York City hospital on charges of violating her rights. A Roman Catholic nurse who says she felt "violated and betrayed, like I had been raped" after being forced to take part in a second-trimester abortion is suing a New York City hospital on charges of violating her rights. Read full story
FOX News: Conscience violated: Nurse forced to assist in late-term abortion
July 26, 2009: A New York nurse claims she was forced to choose between her religious convictions and her job when Mount Sinai Hospital ordered her to assist in a late-term abortion against her will.The hospital even exaggerated the patient's condition and claimed the woman could die if the nurse, a devout Catholic, did not follow orders, the nurse alleges in a lawsuit.
"It felt like a horror film unfolding," said Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo, 35, who claims she has had gruesome nightmares and hasn't been able to sleep since the May 24 incident. Full story
ADF attorneys file lawsuit against hospital for violating Christian nurse's rights of conscience
July 22, 2009 - NEW YORK - Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday against Mount Sinai Hospital on behalf of a Catholic nurse who was forced to participate in a late-term abortion under the threat of disciplinary action, including possible termination and loss of her license. The hospital has known of her religious objections to abortion since 2004. Full press release
NPR: Some Docs Resist Repeal Of Bush-Era Abortion Regs
July 6, 2009 - According to a survey conducted for the Christian Medical Association, "90 percent of those surveyed said they will quit their practices before violating their conscience," said David Stevens, the group's executive director. Repealing the rules, which officially took effect on former President Bush's final day in office, said Stevens, "sends a clear message: It's open season on health care professionals of conscience - discriminate at will." Full article Listen to broadcast
Americans United for Life: Protecting Healthcare Freedom of Conscience: A National Tradition
July, 2009 - Today, these protections are increasingly important as abortion proponents seek to weaken and, ultimately, remove common-sense abortion laws such as informed consent and parental involvement, as well as federal and state laws and regulations protecting healthcare providers who do not wish to participate in abortions or other conflict-ridden procedures. Read full article
California Catholic Daily: Obama proposal "would have devastating impact on health care access"
June 12, 2009 - Doctors, nurses, other health professionals and some California legislators held a press conference Tuesday, June 9, on the north steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento pleading with President Barack Obama not to rescind conscience protection regulations for healthcare providers who do not want to participate in abortions or other medical procedures they find morally objectionable. Read full story
Family News in Focus (Focus on the Family): Calif. asked to uphold doctors' rights of conscience
June 11, '09 - Listen to the radio broadcast
(on the page, scroll to the date and story, then click the green arrow play button on the left to listen)
Orange County Register: Sen. Sam Aanestad commentary
June 11, 2009 - California Focus: Doctors' religious rights denied: Although California struggles to find enough doctors to serve its people, observant Catholics, Orthodox Jews and religious Muslims need not apply. According to new federal regulations, health care professionals must choose between their faith and their profession. Read full commentary
Senator George Runner comments on conscience clause
June 9, 2009 - Watch video
CA press conference: Conscience Rule Removal Coupled With Budget Cuts Could Trigger Ca Healthcare Crisis
June 9, 2009 - Medical professionals and lawmakers ask President Obama not to rescind conscience rule; want Governor Schwarzenegger to join them. More from CA press conference...
Breakpoint with Chuck Colson:
May 26, 2009 - It seems one man's religious freedom is another man's "ridiculous prejudice." Read full commentary
Members of Congress challenge President on conscience after Notre Dame speech
May 19, 2009 - In response to President Obama's commencement address last Sunday at the University of Notre Dame, today Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), held a press conference in Washington, D.C. and sent a letter to President Obama calling on him to publicly forgo rescinding the Bush Administration conscience protection regulation.
Rep. Smith and Sensenbrenner ltr to President
Freedom2Care: Doctors Urge President Obama to Keep the Conscience Clause Following Notre Dame Speech
News release May 18, 2009: Rescinding the conscience clause will force thousands of doctors to choose between their jobs or their moral values. Read full news release
Favazza blog: What Might Happen Next and Why You Should Care
May 12, 2009 - If the conscience protections for medical professionals are eliminated, both patients-that is, sick Americans-and doctors won't have as many options for going outside the federal sphere. full commentary
Jonathan Imbody in USA Today: Personal conscience strengthens law
May 8, 2009: According to two recent national surveys, Americans support the conscience-protection regulation by a 2-1 ratio, and 95% of faith-based physicians surveyed warn that they will leave medicine before bowing to pressure to violate ethical standards and convictions. The Obama administration can avert a crisis of health care access for poor patients and those in medically underserved areas by simply keeping regulatory and legal protections for health care professionals who remain anchored to ethical standards. full commentary
LifeNews: Obama's repealing conscience rules would hurt health care
May 8, 2009: "I wonder if the Obama administration realizes that repealing the provider conscience protection regulations could drive thousands of faith-based physicians out of medicine and close faith-based hospitals that provide over 17% of the health care delivered in the United States," Dr. Donald Thompson said. "Many of these physicians and hospitals target their care to medically underserved populations." full article
James O'Neill in USA Today Forum: Medical workers deserve robust 'conscience clause'
April 29, 2009 - Many U.S. health professionals have been asked to suppress their moral objections, including a medical school applicant interrogated about abortion views, a medical student who was sent without warning to assist in a second-trimester abortion, and a nurse at a podiatry surgery center whose boss announced one day that the center would start performing abortions, and that nurses would assist or be fired. Read full commentary
Resurgent Republic poll tracks Freedom2Care poll results on support for conscience protection
April 29, 2009 - Which of the following statements comes closer to your view: a) Health care workers should be required to perform any medical procedures that are legal, including abortions. b) Health care workers should not be required to perform procedures they oppose on moral grounds, such as abortions. Read poll results - see p. 27 of .pdf
Weekly Standard: A Matter of Conscience
April 28, 2009 - We are learning all sorts of lessons, very early on, about what President Obama means by "reaching out" to find "common ground" with pro-life Americans. Read full commentary
Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star letter: Please don't remove the conscience clause
April 27, 2009 - If the conscience clause for health care workers is removed, numerous providers will be harmed, and their well-being definitely assaulted. Read full letter
Chuck Colson on Breakpoint: Govt. v. Conscience
April 27, 2009 - When health-care professionals refuse to perform or assist in an abortion because it violates their conscience, they are obeying a Higher Authority and His laws-the laws to which He holds every human being. Read full commentary
Culture of Life commentary: Obama and the Bush Conscience Regulations
April 2009 - With such an expansive set of legal protections for health care workers, why did the Bush administration feel it necessary to enact new regulations? This question is at the heart of the present controversy. Read full commentary
Buffalo News commentary: Ending rights of refusal may imperil health care
April 23, 2009 - Obama should not in any way encourage zealots who would trample the consciences of others and create his own set of religious "wedge" issues. Read full commentary
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star editorial: Keeping Conscience
April 22, 2009 - Should we force medical practitioners to violate their core beliefs in areas such as euthanasia, assisted suicide, and abortion--beliefs informed by religion, ethics, and longstanding tradition? read full editorial
Arlington Catholic Herald -Voice that needs to be heard
April 16, 2009 - Dr. John T. Bruchalski would rather close the doors of his highly successful Fairfax medical practice than violate his conscience if he is forced to offer services that violate the basic tenets of his Catholic faith. Arlington Catholic Herald 090416
Philadelphia Bulletin: Poll: Majority of Americans support conscience rights
April 10, 2009 - A new nationwide poll has found that 87 percent of adults believe healthcare professionals should not be forced to participate in procedures to which they have moral objections. Read full article
Focus on the Family radio profiles conscience rights
April, 2009 - Dr. James Dobson interviews Christian Medical Assn. CEO Dr. David Stevens. Listen to broadcast.
CNN, FOX News, CBN, others cover Freedom2Care press conference
April 8, 2009 - Freedom2Care held a national press conference today at the National Press Building in Washington, DC. The Press Conference 090408 page features materials released at the press conference. Included on this page are a summary of two new national polls, speaker bios and statements, and letters to President Obama and other political figures. View photos and listen to audio of Freedom2Care press conference; download documents and view media coverage related to press conference.
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CNN video news report April 8, 2009 by Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the conscience clause
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CNN article April 8, 2009, "Christian doctors' group protests rolling back 'conscience' rule"
- FOX News segment April 8, 2009
- UPI story, "'Right of conscience' move criticized - April 8, 2009
- CBN April 8, 2009 segment on conscience rights
- World Magazine April 9, 2009
- SF Examiner editorial April 13, 2009
- Evangelical Examiner blog April 10, 2009
- Christian Post article April 9, 2009
- World magazine "Speak now..." April 9, 2009
- Baptist Press April 14
- Buffalo News April 14
- view more media coverage related to press conference
- download Polling summary handout
Washington Times: Pro-life workers fight for conscience rights
April 8, 2009: President Obama's campaign promise to dismantle new conscience protections for health care professionals could let governments and medical institutions threaten the careers of pro-lifers who refuse involvement with abortion and contraception issues, a pro-life medical coalition said yesterday. full article
Red State Eclectic Blog on conscience
April 6, 2009: Cardinal George recently warned that eliminating conscience protections "would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism." Read full blog
Listen to Catholic Medical Assn. radio spots
Cath. Med. Assn. radio spot #1
Cath. Med. Assn. radio spot #2
Cath. Med. Assn. radio spot #3
Protection of Conscience Project: Conscientious Objection: Resisting Ethical Aggression in Medicine
April 2009 - Judging from the title of her article, Professor Julie D. Cantor believes that "selfless professionalism" in medicine is being destroyed by health care workers who will not do what they believe to be wrong. Read full commentary
Catholic Herald: Bishop discusses conscience rights with Senate staff
April 2009 - When Bishop Loverde expressed Catholics' opposition to revocation of conscience clauses, Davidson said he needed to become more familiar with the issue and that Warner would like the bishop to return for a personal visit with him. full story
American Thinker: Extinguishing Physician Conscience - by Mary Davenport, MD
April 2009: As you drift in and out of consciousness, you are vaguely aware your old family practice physician, who had taken care of you for 20 years, is not around. A religious man, he quietly retired from medical practice in 2014, after the full force of the Obama administration‘s removal of conscience protection for physicians in February, 2009, came into effect. full commentary
Alan Sears on Town Hall: Conscientious Objections
March 30, 2009 - The team now pulling the strings at the Department of Health and Human Services has decided that preserving religious liberty - much less life in the womb - is a luxury the nation can't afford. And they expect health care providers to take their moral cues from the government...not their own convictions. full commentary
WSAU radio: Interview with David Stevens, MD, CEO Christian Medical Association
Click here to access .mp3 file
World Magazine: Health Concerns
March 28, 2009 - HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius' record in Kansas shows aggressive support for abortion and bigger government. full story (subscription required)
Catholic Bishops: Conscience Protection Necessary to Protect Human Rights
March 27, 2009: Bishop Murphy said, "So why should everyone be concerned about this? Because if one person's rights can be compromised, everybody's rights can be compromised." full story
Witherspoon Institute: Should Obama Conscience Rules Protect Persons or Provide Benefits?
March 24, 2009: The state is required to protect persons not just from physical harm but from being forced to violate their limited but definite freedom of conscience. full story
AMNews: Ending conscience rule?
March 23, 2009 - Christian Medical Assn. CEO David Stevens, MD, said the rule simply provides an enforcement mechanism for existing protections. In releasing the final rule, HHS officials under Bush also expressed a need to deter discriminatory practices. full story
Annals of Pharmacotherapy: "Hijacking" of Moral Conscience from Pharmacy Practice
March 19, 2009 - ...No one, however, seems to be paying much attention to the greater moral and ethical responsibility of pharmacists as they take on expanded roles. Not only are the greater expectations not coupled with greater respect for the pharmacist's freedom of conscience, but provincial jurisdictions across the country vary in degrees of tolerance toward pharmacists whose views differ from those held by the licensing authorities. full article
Citizen Link: Ask Government to Protect Rights of Conscience
March 18, 2009 - "If we fail to protect conscience rights, we could find ourselves in the future without pro-life Christian physicians practicing medicine - something that negatively impacts both patients and the culture at large," said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action. full story
Prime Time America: interview with Christian Medical Assn. CEO
March 16, 2009 - Moody Radio interview with Dr. David Stevens on conscience rights in healthcare: PTA Dr. Stevens (.mp3 file)
Newsmax.com: Obama's Attack on Medical Civil Liberties
March 15, 2009 - (Newt Gingrich commentary) ...By eliminating the enforcement of these legal protections, the Obama Administration is signaling that it intends to ignore the law and refuse to protect the civil liberties of healthcare professionals based upon religious or moral conscience. Without enforcement, healthcare personnel will have scant legal recourse for intimidation and bigotry rendering the laws intended to protect them meaningless. full commentary
Catholic News Agency: Cardinal George warns Obama against moving U.S. towards despotism
Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2009 / 02:34 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Francis George has issued a video message asking Catholics to tell the Obama Administration to retain a conscience protection rule for pro-life health care workers. Its preservation is vital to keep the government from "moving our country from democracy to despotism," he said. full story
MichNews.com: Some thoughts on the Conscience Clause by a post Abortive Woman
March 12, 2009 - I have read, over and over, how "women's health advocates" condemned the conscience regulation saying it interferes with women's health services,but once more, as with all abortion initiatives, they only show concern for women who agree with their pro abortion agenda. full commentary
NPR: Obama To Rescind Provider Conscience Regulation
March 2, 2009 - Guests include Deirdre McQuade, assistant director of policy and communications for the pro-life secretariat of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Listen to program
Christian Doctors Digest: Attorney explains the law for healthcare professionals
March 2009: Casey Mattox of the Christian Legal Society explains civil rights law and the conscience regulation, how it applies to healthcare professionals and how to protect conscience rights. audio file
ADF video: Jordan Lorence addresses proposed rule rescission by Obama Administration
March 2009: watch video
Denise Burke: Contemporary Threats To Healthcare Freedom of Conscience
Culture of Life Foundation, March 2009: Individuals and institutions do not lose their right to exercise their moral and religious beliefs and conscience once they decide to become healthcare providers. Nothing in the laws protecting healthcare rights of conscience prevent others from providing the healthcare service to which a conscientious objection has been made. full commentary
Helen Alvaré: Stripping Health Care Providers of Conscience Protection
Culture of Life Foundation, March 2009 - Is now really the time to be driving conscientious doctors and hospitals out of the business of treating women? Is there really ever a good time to do this? Honest, non-profit, community-oriented health care providers who also exercise an option for the poor are hard to come by in this world. full commentary
NPR: Obama to Overturn Bush "Conscience" Rules
February 27, 2009 - "The lack of regulations resulted in confusion and a lack of awareness within the health care community, leaving health care personnel vulnerable to discrimination and forcing them to drop their specialties at a crucial time of health care scarcity," says Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.
"The rules as written appropriately protect pro-life health care workers," said Stephen H. Aden, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is defending the regulation in several lawsuits that have been filed against it. full article
Care Net: Obama Decision Would Overturn Protections for Pro-Life Docs
February 27, 2009 Press Release - "Our nation's physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers have the right to practice medicine without violating their conscience. To remove these protections is to ultimately remove these individuals of integrity from the field of medicine entirely," Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde said. full press release
Jonathan Imbody: Protect Health Professionals Who Oppose Abortion
Published in the Palm Beach Post January 26, 2009 - The editorial "Cancel Bush's prescription," relies heavily on Planned Parenthood pronouncements in attacking a new civil rights regulation rather than investigating what's really happening in the medical community regarding abortion mandates. full commentary
Mailee Smith: Healthcare Rights of Conscience - A Hotbed of Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Action
Culture of Life 2008 - Now is the time for states to enact laws protecting the conscience of all healthcare providers in all healthcare settings-and especially in the setting of nonessential medical treatment-before another state court fails to "get it." And public health in this nation suffers for it. full commentary
Christian Medical Association: published commentaries on conscience rights
full list of links to commentaries
For more news reports and commentaries related to conscience rights in health care, see Related News.
