The Becket Fund is pledging to sue the Department of Health and Human Services if it begins forcing religious hospitals to perform abortions.
Eric Rassbach, an attorney with The Becket Fund, tells OneNewsNow the current issue deals with the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) misinterpretation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
"The ACLU made what we consider an indecent proposal to the Department of Health and Human Services, asking them to take a law that was meant to prevent patient dumping and turn it into a command that religious hospitals perform abortions," he explains.
His firm feels the ACLU has no business in re-defining the meaning of the legislation, and believes forcing religious doctors and nurses to violate their faith would result in nationwide closures of healthcare facilities.
"It takes a little bit of chutzpa to say that this is somehow a law forcing religious people to perform abortions," Rassbach decides. But he points out that if the federal government complies with the ACLU's request, it would be a violation of "the basic rights of conscience that are protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."
Rossbach assures that if that happens, the Health Department will find itself squaring off against The Becket Fund in federal court.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Date Published: September 2, 2010
