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| photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
The rule in question allows medical workers to refuse to provide services that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs. It was issued in 2019, but it was quickly blocked by federal courts. As a result, it has never been enforced.
When the rule was finalized, OCR Director Roger Severino gave the following statement summarizing its significance:
“Finally, laws prohibiting government-funded discrimination against conscience and religious freedom will be enforced like every other civil rights law. This rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won’t be bullied out of the health care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life.”
If the rule were ever to be enforced, it would offer support and security to pro-life medical workers who refuse to participate in life-ending procedures such as abortion and euthanasia. By scrapping the rule, the Biden administration is working to dismantle any potential protection it could provide.
