Congressional Democrats Outraged: HHS Enforcing Decades-Old Legislation

By Tim Grubbs
July 17, 2008
Law

“Bush Proposal to Change Abortion Definition” - This is the latest Bush-bashing headline from ABC News who is apparently the first major network to run with a comment from Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whose comment posted on Digg resulted in a overload of the Speaker’s website.

According to the article, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) have joined in Pelosi’s screeching outrage, calling the proposed rules change at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a potential setback to the rights of women everywhere, which may even end up keeping rape victims from getting contraception.

Of course, this is just an overreaction for the purpose of stirring up the left wing. The proposed rules change is designed to address documented misconceptions within the healthcare industry. Many healthcare practitioners believe that they are obligated to perform abortion-related and other controversial procedures, regardless of their moral or religious objections.

However, practitioners have every right to object and refuse to perform any medical procedure which contradicts their moral and religious values, and federal law protects them from discrimination by employers in this regard. The HHS proposed rules “change” would simply ensure that requirements of decades-old law are printed on federal funding request forms, and that HHS then verifies the law is being followed in order for federal funding recipients to continue receiving funds.

Why are these Democrat ladies so upset about proposed rules changes that would step up enforcement against discrimination? In reviewing the proposed rules, it appears nothing is changed - including the law’s definition of abortion.