A bill pushed by Democrats in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court decision would force Christian doctors to perform abortions even if they hold religious reason not to, religious freedom advocates warn.
Several religious freedom experts warned about the effect the Protecting Women’s Health Act would have on Christian medical professionals who are against abortion should the bill pass the Senate and be signed into law.
Charlotte Lozier Institute associate scholar Richard M. Doerflinger said in a Tuesday statement that in “theory, federal law protects the conscience rights of doctors and nurses with moral objections to abortion.”
“But the Biden administration disbanded the division of the HHS Office of Civil Rights that had enforced those laws,” Doerflinger said. “The one remaining law that does not depend on the Administration’s whims is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, because it allows the oppressed party to go to court to defend his or her own rights and the Women’s Health Protection Act would nullify that Act as it applies to abortion.”
“Christian doctors and nurses would be covered by the WHPA’s mandate that all states maximize ‘access’ to elective abortions,” he warned. “The law that protected religious orders and religious health care providers from being forced to pay for contraceptives and abortifacients under Obamacare would not protect them from having to perform and refer for even late-term abortions.”
Heritage Foundation religion policy analyst Melanie Israel shared similar concerns, saying that the “WHPA specifically exempts itself from a defense raised under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.”
“This law was enacted on a resoundingly bipartisan basis, with the support of members, like Sen. Schumer, who tomorrow will vote to ignore it,” she continued.
Israel said that furthermore, “the WHPA states that a ‘health care provider has a statutory right under this Act to provide abortion services, and may provide abortion services, and that provider’s patient has a corresponding right to receive such services…’ This directly conflicts with, for example, a faith-based hospital’s ability to have a policy to not allow elective late term abortions to be conducted on its premises.”
“The WHPA says it would supersede other Federal and state law, imperiling longstanding policies like the Church, Coats-Snow, and Weldon Amendments (and their state counterparts) which together have provided meaningful protections for individuals and health care entities who don’t want to perform, provide, pay for, or refer for abortions,” Israel added.
The Protecting Women’s Health Act passed the House along party lines before meeting its demise in the Senate earlier this Congress.
However, that hasn’t stopped Democrats from making a renewed push for the bill in the wake of the Supreme Court leak.
The bill is expected to fall short of the 60-vote hurdle to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.
Knowing this fact, progressives have fallen back on demanding the filibuster be removed, something that is also unlikely to happen as both Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona continue to stand opposed to the idea.
if you are not Christian why would you want a Christian doctor performing your abortion?
Do you ask your doctor what religion they are? It does not matter, they are not there for a religious service, they are there to do their jobs.
Yes and a part of doing their job is to do no harm. When an unborn child is murdered, that is harm.
I’ve always wondered at the Left when they talk about women’s health or “reproductive health”. Isn’t an abortion endangering the health of the mother, or the child within her? Perhaps it’s a small danger, but in almost all of the cases it’s more dangerous than letting the pregnancy run its course!
Since demonrats love abortions so much they shouldn’t be allowed to have any children
First I must say, you are an idiot. There are many reasons why a woman would need to get an abortion. Nobody loves to have to have an abortion, for a lot of women it is the hardest thing they will ever do. In other cases it is a relief when it is done. Either way it is an extremely emotional process to go through. Until you know anything about the subject you really should not talk about it.
There is no such thing as a “late term abortion” or “partial birth abortion” There sure as hell is no such thing as an elective late term abortion. If an abortion needs to be performed later in a pregnancy it is because of life of the mother or something very wrong with the fetus. It is very rare that This would happen. “Partial birth abortions” do not exist. Guess why. Because that would be murder. Wake the hell up people! One more thing, you do not own me,control me, you have absolutely no rights to my body. Nothing gives you any say so about my body and what I can and cannot do with it. It is my body, my life and I will make the decisions as it pertains to both.
Do you oppose or support the use of birth control instead of murder? If you’re having sex, protect yourself from pregnancy or abstain. It is my right to see my tax money spent on things that matter, not on the murder of your child! Have you heard of adoption? If you don’t want your child, let someone who will love her/him adopt the child.
Do you oppose or support the use of birth control instead of murder? If you’re having sex, protect yourself from pregnancy or abstain. It is my right to see my tax money spent on things that matter, not on the murder of your child! Have you heard of adoption? If you don’t want your child, let someone who will love her/him adopt the child.