FAQ: What would happen if the conscience-protecting regulation were eliminated?
What would happen if the conscience-protecting regulation were eliminated?
One of the main reasons the conscience regulation was implemented is that there was no systematic enforcement or education of the medical community of conscience-protecting civil rights laws.
Though the laws have technically been in effect for over 35 years, the laws remained relatively powerless, since health care providers remained uneducated about the issue and unaware of their legal rights and recourse.
The conscience regulation designated the Office of Civil Rights to receive complaints and oversee follow-up investigations. The regulation also required that federal HHS grant recipients impacted by these anti-discrimination laws certify to HHS their compliance with the laws.
If the regulation is rescinded, as planned by the current administration, it would become much more difficult for health care professionals and institutions to fight discrimination based on conscience and ethical standards. Apart from the conscience-protecting regulation, there appears to be no assurance that HHS will act aggressively to protect conscience rights in accordance with the law.
Getting rid of the conscience-protecting regulation also would send a signal that discriminating on the basis of conscience and intolerance of certain beliefs and moral convictions is acceptable, even desirable, in health care. Rescinding the conscience regulation would be a huge step backwards for the freedom of conscience for health care workers and would threaten to unravel the freedoms of medical professionals and patients everywhere.
