Protection of Conscience Project

White House Promises for 2012

11 Feb 2012 07:15:20 GMT

Legal Commentary | This statement from the White House reaffirms the regulation that will compel objecting employers to provide insurance for sterilization and birth control, and a year's "grace period." It makes a number of promises about a new regulation that will not be in place until after US presidential election in 2012

President Obama announces promise to accommodate objecting employers

11 Feb 2012 05:34:49 GMT

News | President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a news conference today and promised to revise a regulation that has ignited a firestorm of protest across the United States. However, the details provided in the White House "Fact Sheet" suggest that the administration is simply reaffirming the existing regulation while making a promise work with objecting institutions to find a compromise during a one-year grace period. This is essentially what Secretary Sebelius announced on 20 January. What is new is the suggestion that coverage might be offered by insurance companies without the active participation of employers who object. When developing the proposal, the administration did not consult with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has been the most determined and vociferous critic of the regulation.

The proposal was not published in the United States Federal Register on 10 February, as promised by the White House "Fact Sheet".

Hawaii cited as model of possible compromise in birth control insurance controversy

10 Feb 2012 05:26:04 GMT

News | A Hawaiian law concerning insurance for contraceptive coverage has been cited as a model for a possible compromise between the Obama administration and religious groups that have made clear that they will resist or refuse to obey its new birth control regulation. Organizations in Hawaii that object to contraception for religious reasons may decline to provide health insurance coverage for it if they advise employees that it is not available and tell them where coverage can be obtained. It is reported that it is generally successful, but that there are some problems with the arrangement. [NCR] The issue of referral may also be a source of difficulty.

Christian Medical Association: Contraception mandate fits pattern of assaults on conscience and religious liberty

10 Feb 2012 05:23:57 GMT

News Release | The 16,000-member Christian Medical Association today issued a statement asserting that the government's mandate of contraception coverage nationwide fits a growing pattern of assaulting and restricting First Amendment freedoms of conscience and faith. . .

Michigan takes lead role in lawsuits against unconstitutional Obama health care mandate

10 Feb 2012 05:18:03 GMT

News Release | Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced Michigan will be the lead state in an effort to defend religious liberty in three separate lawsuits filed by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of two colleges and a religious broadcasting network challenging onerous administrative health care regulations recently handed down by the Obama administration. . .

State of Michigan joins suits against HHS regulation

10 Feb 2012 05:16:03 GMT

News | The Attorney General of Michigan has announced that the state will file briefs in support of three court cases that have been launched to stop the Obama administration from forcing objecting employers to pay for insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. [News release]

SB 2092 Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012

10 Feb 2012 05:20:52 GMT

Proposed Law | A BILL To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to provide conscience protections for individuals and organizations.

New bill in US Senate to stop HHS regulation

10 Feb 2012 05:13:05 GMT

News | Senators Joe Manchin and Mario Rubio have introduced "Bill S2092 -the Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012." The bill is drafted to stop the Department of Health and Human Services regulation enacted by the Obama administration for the purpose of forcing employers to pay for insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. The bill offers protection to individuals and entities opposed to facilitating such services for reasons of conscience or religion.

Virtually all US Catholic bishops have denounced HHS contraceptive mandate

10 Feb 2012 05:10:19 GMT

News | Virtually every Catholic bishop in the United States who heads a diocese has spoken out against the Obama administration's regulation that will force employers to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. Many have stated that they will not comply with the law. [ See Map of institutions resisting the HHS 'contraceptive' mandate]

Nebraska will sue to prevent forced birth control

9 Feb 2012 05:07:08 GMT

News | Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has written to Attorneys General in the other 49 US states inviting them to join a court case that will be launched by Nebraska to stop the Obama administration from forcing objecting employers to pay for insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. He described the adminstration regulation as "an unconscionable intrusion on religious liberties." [Associated Press]

Prominent Evangelical Christian leader supports Catholic opposition to forced birth control regulation

8 Feb 2012 05:05:00 GMT

News | Rick Warren, a prominent Evangelical Christan pastor, has published a "tweet" stating, "I'm not a Catholic but I stand in 100% solidarity with my brothers & sisters to practice their belief against govt pressure."

Southern Baptists denounce forced birth control insurance

8 Feb 2012 04:52:43 GMT

News | A statement from the Southern Baptists has denounced the Obama administration's regulation that will force employers to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. The statement describes the regulation as "a clear violation of our nation’s commitment to liberty of conscience and a flagrant violation of our constitutional protection to freedom of religion." It was signed by Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission since 1988, and Barrett Duke one of the Commission's directors.

154 members of US Congress protest HHS regulation forcing birth control coverage

7 Feb 2012 04:50:35 GMT

News | 154 members of the US House of Representatives from both Democratic and Republican parties have signed a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stating that the regulation that forces objecting employers to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs is "an unprecedented overreach by the federal government that infringes upon rights guaranteed by the First Amendment." They asked that the regulation be suspended until it is certain that employers and individuals "are afforded their constitutionally protected rights."

Sebelius defends forced coverage: USA Today editorial opposes it

6 Feb 2012 04:48:23 GMT

News | Writing in USA Today, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has defended her plan to force employers to pay for insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. She avoids the issue of coercion of employers entirely and claims that the narrow 'religious exemption' is adequate, despite nationwide protests to the contrary [See Map of institutions resisting the HHS "preventive services" mandate]. The USA Today editorial stated that "the Obama administration didn't just cross" the line separating church and stated, but "galloped over it, requiring employers affiliated with the Catholic Church to include free birth control in their health insurance plans."

Presidential hopeful promises to revoke forced birth control regulation

4 Feb 2012 04:46:33 GMT

News | Mitt Romney, one of the front-runners seeking nomination as the Republican Party's candidate in the 2012 presidential election, has spoken out in support of Catholic bishops opposing the Obama administration's regulation that will force employers with over 50 employees to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. He states, "Such rules don’t belong in the America that I believe in." [Romney Blog] However, opponents may recall that, while governor of Massachusetts, he refused to exempt Catholic hospitals from a requirement to dispense the morning-after pill to rape complainants.[Boston Globe]

Archbishop's letter to congregation censored by US military authorities

4 Feb 2012 04:44:49 GMT

News | Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who is in charge of Catholic chaplains in the U.S. military, asked them to read to their congregations at mass a pastoral letter protesting the Obama administration's plan to force employers with over 50 employees to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. The letter, like many of those from other US Catholic bishops read from pulpits across the country, stated, "We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law."

The Army's Office of the Chief of Chaplains sent an e-mail ordering Catholic chaplains not to read the letter, directing them to mention it in bulletins and have printed copies available. A number of chaplains are reported to have disobeyed the order, while others contacted the Archbishop. The Archbishop spoke to the Secretary of the Army, who confirmed that the Chief of Chaplains had acted improperly. As a result of the discussion with the Secretary, a censored version of the letter was read to congregations. The original is available on the military archdiocese website. [CNS News]

Speaker of US House of Representatives considers HHS mandate unconstitutional

3 Feb 2012 04:42:52 GMT

News | U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner has stated that he believes the HHS "preventive services" contraceptive mandate violates the U.S. constitution, and expressed hope that the Obama administration would reconsider it. White House Press Secretary said that the issue was not being reconsidered: " the decision has been made." [ Associated Press]

EU Commmissioner for Human rights supports right to conscientious objection

3 Feb 2012 04:40:30 GMT

News | Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, has issued a statement supporting the exercise of conscientious objection to military service. He argues that objectors should be given a "genuinely civilian" alternative to compulsory military service, not imprisoned. [CE press release] The comment is of interest because a number of commentators on freedom of conscience in health care have suggested that conscientious objectors should be willing to suffer for their convictions, making explicit reference to imprisonment. [See, for example, the reference in The Silence of Good People]

Erroneous assumptions illustrated by editorial

3 Feb 2012 04:36:41 GMT

News | In an editorial titled, "Birth Control: Now a human right," the Charleston Gazette has expressed support for the Obama administrations regulation that will force objecting employers to provide insurance coverage for "contraceptive services."The editorial illustrates five common unexamined and questionable assumptions frequently made by opponents of freedom of conscience in health care.

Prominent Southern Baptist protests HHS mandate

31 Jan 2012 07:05:36 GMT

News | Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has praised the willingness of Catholic bishops to go to jail rather than conform to the HHS regulation requiring them to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives, surgical sterilization and potential embryocides. Mohler said, "[E]veryone who stands both for the sanctity of human life and for the mandate of religious liberty must express outrage in whatever form is available to us to the president of the United States.”

White House press secretary downplays revolt over HHS mandate

31 Jan 2012 07:04:11 GMT

News | White House Press Secretary Jay Carney states that he does not think that the Department of Health and Human Services regulation requiring employers to pay for insurance coverage for "contraceptive services" raises any constitutional issues. He also claims that the Obama administration supports "existing conscience protections." He was responding to a question from a reporter who described the adverse response of the American Catholic bishops as "a pretty extraordinary situation." Many of the bishops have said that they will not comply with the law. Asked if that would have consquences, Carney avoided the question.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012

31 Jan 2012 20:15:27 GMT

Proposed Law | Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012

Rubio introduces bill to repeal Obamacare mandate against religious freedom

31 Jan 2012 20:13:32 GMT

News Release | Senator Marco Rubio | U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012, a bill to repeal a new ObamaCare mandate that violates the religious liberties and conscience rights of faith-based institutions by forcing them to offer employees insurance coverage for contraceptives.

Ohio politicians reject or support freedom of conscience in health care

31 Jan 2012 20:10:16 GMT

News | Interviewed by the editorial board of the Toledo Blade about the federal government's regulation that will force objecting employers to pay for contraceptive and embryocidal drugs, a candidate for the nomination of the Democratic Party commented "It seems to me if we can land a man on the moon and if we can figure out how to take out Osama Bin Laden, we ought to be able to find a way to do this,

Over half of Catholic bishops in USA have spoken out against new law

31 Jan 2012 20:09:13 GMT

News | According to a Catholic blog, over half of the Catholic bishops who are in charge of dioceses in the United States have spoken out publicly against the Obama administration's plan to force employers to pay for contraceptive, embryocidal drugs and devices.

Protection of conscience bill introduced in US Senate to stop HHS regulation

31 Jan 2012 20:07:53 GMT

News | In response to the Obama administration's plan to suppress the exericse of freedom of conscience by individuals and groups opposed to contraceptives, embryocidal and abortificaient drugs and services, Senator Mario Rubio of Florida has introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 in the U.S. Senate.

This conscience thing

30 Jan 2012 20:11:55 GMT

Op/Ed | W. James Antle, III | Has President Obama's Department of Health and Human Services awakened a sleeping giant? In pews across America, Catholics listened yesterday to letters from their bishops denouncing an HHS requirement that forces virtually every employer in America to pay for health insurance that covers contraception, sterilization, and embryocides.

US bishops encourage protests, promise defiance of new law

30 Jan 2012 17:02:51 GMT

News | Catholic bishops in the United States are having letters are being read to their congregations to encourage protests against the Obama administration's plan to force employers to pay for contraceptive and embryocidal drugs and devices. Bishop Zubick of Pittsburgh wrote that the federal government has basically told Catholics, "To hell with you!", while Bishop Leonard P. Blair of Toledo, Ohio, stated, "We cannot - we will not - comply with this unjust law."

Decision unchanged on HHS exemptions: HHS edict will force Catholics to violate conscience

29 Jan 2012 17:08:54 GMT

Op/Ed | It is really hard to believe that it happened. It comes like a slap in the face. The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, “To Hell with you!” There is no other way to put it.

Kansas House Bill 2523 (2012)

28 Jan 2012 11:39:56 GMT

Proposed Law | AN ACT concerning abortion; amending K.S.A. 65-443 and K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 65-444 and repealing the existing sections.

Jewish groups warn US federal government plan harms freedom of religion

28 Jan 2012 11:38:35 GMT

News | Rabbi Abba Cohen, vice president for federal government affairs and Washington director of Agudath Israel, has criticized the Obama administration’s decision to force employers to pay for contraceptive, embryocidal drugs and devices even if they object to doing so for reasons of conscience. Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, expressed concern about the notion that religious belief that does not remain "insular" is not really religious belief.

Council of Europe asserts that euthanasia must always be prohibited

26 Jan 2012 16:19:13 GMT

News | In a document addressing the issue of advance directives, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe included the statemenet, "Euthanasia, in the sense of the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit, must always be prohibited."

Protection of conscience bill introduced in Kansas

25 Jan 2012 16:02:54 GMT

News | A protection of conscience bill introduced by Rep. Steve Brunk in the Kansas House of Representatives is intended to ensure that medical professionals who refuse to participate in abortion are not fired or demoted.

Spanish government to revise abortion law

25 Jan 2012 16:01:41 GMT

News | The new Spanish government, which replaced the former socialist government in November elections, plans to revise the country's abortion law. It had promised to "change the current legislative model relating to abortion in order to reinforce the protection of the right to life as well as female minors".

The Obama administration's attack on Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton

25 Jan 2012 21:03:23 GMT

Op/Ed | Casey Mattox | Thirty-nine years ago the United States Supreme Court recognized that medical professionals, let alone others, have a right not to assist in abortions in violation of their conscience.

Bishops decry HHS rule, urge Catholics to stand up for religious liberty

25 Jan 2012 21:02:04 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | Both the president of the U.S. bishops and the bishops’ Pro-Life chairman called on the thousands of Catholics gathered for the National Prayer Vigil for Life to speak out for the protection of conscience rights and religious liberty.

Cardinal-Designate Dolan speaks out against HHS rule, calls for action

25 Jan 2012 21:00:35 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), sharply criticized the decision by the Obama administration in which it “ordered almost every employer and insurer in the country to provide sterilization and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, in their health plans.” He made the statement in a web video posted at: http://bcove.me/ob5itz9v. . .

US bishops vow to fight HHS edict

25 Jan 2012 20:59:09 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops |The Catholic bishops of the United States called “literally unconscionable” a decision by the Obama Administration to continue to demand that sterilization, embryocides and contraception be included in virtually all health plans.

New Hampshire House Bill 1653 (2012)

25 Jan 2012 20:57:50 GMT

Proposed Law | It is the purpose of this act to protect as a basic civil right the right of all health care providers and/or institutions, to decline to counsel, advise, pay for, provide, perform, assist, or participate in providing or performing health care services that violate their consciences.

Missouri Senate Bill 657 (2012)

25 Jan 2012 20:55:53 GMT

USA-Proposed Law | To amend chapter 191, RSMo, by adding thereto five new sections relating to the conscience rights of all individuals who provide medical services.

Moral Courage in the Practice of Medicine

25 Jan 2012 20:54:15 GMT

Conference | Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians' Societies | The Metropolitan Hotel, Vancouver, B.C. 27-28 April, 2012

Protection of conscience bill in New Hampshire

25 Jan 2012 20:40:18 GMT

News | A protection of conscience bill has been proposed in New Hampshire, one of only three states that lack protective legislation for health care workers. House Bill 1653 offers protection for individuals, though not for institutions. It is opposed by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Association.

Tanzanian bill proposes to enforce 'access to reproductive health services'

25 Jan 2012 20:39:11 GMT

News | A Bill to Enact the Safe Motherhood Law (2012) will be proposed in Tanzania in February for the purpose of enforcing 'rights to access reproductive health care,' a term frequently associated with suppression of freedom of conscience among health care workers.

US Catholic bishops urge support for freedom of conscience and religion in US

25 Jan 2012 20:37:54 GMT

News | Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, speaking to a pro-life rally on behalf of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities, challenged the decision of the Obama administration to force all employers to pay for contraceptives and embryodical drugs and services.

Social values & medical expertise no longer compatible with childbearing>

25 Jan 2012 20:36:23 GMT

News | Anna Smajdor, an ethicist in the United Kingom, is defending the proposition that artificial wombs should be developed so that women no longer have to bear children. The most recent article continues a discussion begun in 2007, when she asserted that only by this means is it possible to remedy "the natural or physical injustices involved in the unequal gender roles of reproduction" and the alleged "social injustices that arise from them."

J'ACCUSE! Why Obama is wrong on the HHS conscience regulations

21 Jan 2012 16:04:11 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | President Barack Obama lost my vote yesterday when he declined to expand the exceedingly narrow conscience exemptions proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services. The issue of conscience protections is so foundational, I do not see how I ever could, in good conscience, vote for this man again.

American Evangelicals: "new rules trample most cherished freedoms"

20 Jan 2012 17:04:07 GMT

News | The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has expressed deep disappointment with plans by the Obama administration to force employers to pay for contraceptives and embryocides despite moral objections.

'Expert' panel on abortion generates controversy in Ireland

20 Jan 2012 17:59:53 GMT

News | A panel of 13 'experts' chaired by Mr. Justice Seán Ryan of the High Court of Ireland is to study a European Court of Human Rights ruling on abortion and advise the government what should be done in response. Four members of the panel - Mary O'Toole, Dr Peter Boylan, Dr. Deirdre Madden, and Ailish Ní Riain - have been identified by anti-abortion groups in the country as having previously indicated that they favour legalizing abortion or reducing restrictions on it.

Evangelicals disappointed with White House decision on conscience protection

20 Jan 2012 17:11:17 GMT

News Release | The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is deeply disappointed by a White House decision, announced today, that employers with religious objections to contraception will be forced to pay for services and procedures they believe are morally wrong.

US Catholic bishops vow to fight government edict

20 Jan 2012 17:58:59 GMT

News | Responding to news that the Obama administration will continue plans to force all employers to pay for contraceptives and embryodical drugs and services, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has characterized the decision as an unprecedented attack on religious liberty. The Conference promises to continue working to reform the law.

Obama administration puts an expiration date on freedom of conscience

20 Jan 2012 17:06:59 GMT

Op/Ed | Today the Obama Administration added insult to injury, announcing that it would give some religious nonprofits an additional year to “adapt” to its coercive mandate that nearly all insurance plans provide coverage for the abortion-inducing drug ella.

Obama administration confirms plan to suppress freedom of conscience

20 Jan 2012 17:58:01 GMT

News | The US Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed that, as of 1 August, 2012, it will force employers to pay for contraceptives and embryodical drugs and services even if they object to doing so for reasons of conscience. However, the rule will not be applied to non-profit institutions until August, 2013.

Pope warns of attempts to limit freedom of religion in USA

19 Jan 2012 17:57:08 GMT

News | Addressing American bishops at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI warned of "grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism." He voiced special concern about "certain attempts" to limit freedom of religion.

South Carolina Senate takes up protection of conscience bill

18 Jan 2012 17:56:08 GMT

News | The Freedom of Conscience Act, a bill that passed the South Carolina House of Representatives last year, is to be considered by the state senate. It is a procedure-specific statute that focuses on embryonic and foetal research and acts that cause the death of an individual.

Protection of conscience bill introduced in Missouri

17 Jan 2012 17:55:00 GMT

News | Missouri Senate Bill 657 is drafted to prevent health care workers or institutions from being compelled to participate in any service or procedure to which they object for reasons of conscience. It is intended to protect them against criminal, civil and administrative proceedings, and from discrimination for the exercise of their convictions

Midwives in Scotland go to court over forced facilitation of abortion

17 Jan 2012 17:53:50 GMT

News | Scotland's largest health board, the National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde, ordered two Catholic midwives to schedule and supervise other health care workers providing abortion. The organization rejected a grievance from the midwives, claiming that the protection of conscience provision in the Abortion Act exempts objectors only from active and direct participation in an abortion.

British government asserts that legalization of assisted suicide must be decided by Parliament

16 Jan 2012 17:52:34 GMT

News | In response to a question about the recommendation of a private commission chaired by Lord Falconer, the British Secretary of State for Justice has stated that assisted suicide should not be legalized by policy, but by a decision of Parliament enacted in legislation.

Controversy over sex selective abortions in Canada

16 Jan 2012 17:51:21 GMT

News | The Canadian Medical Association Journal has reported that sex selective abortion is being practised in Canada despite opposition from the public and from professional associations and regulators.

Population control and abortion in Pakistan

16 Jan 2012 17:50:23 GMT

News | Sindh, the second largest province in Pakistan, is setting up a Population Council for the purpose of implementing a population control programme. Among the concerns voiced by supporters of the plan is that most people are reluctant to adopt contraception, and that many medical professionals object to abortion for religious reasons.

Massachusetts Initiative Petition re: Assisted Suicide

13 Jan 2012 18:41:29 GMT

Proposed Law | The following protection of conscience provisions are included in a bill to legalize assisted suicide in Massachusetts. Although Section 1 of the bill states that participation in the procedure must be "entirely voluntary," participation is defined in Section 3(d)ii to exclude referral. Thus, the bill would, if enacted, support compulsory referral for assisted suicide. Section 3(d)ii D of the bill would also require objecting institutions not only to permit referral under Section 3(d)ii, but would require them to permit physicians in their facilities to contract for off-premises provision of assisted suicide.

Florida State Senate Bill 598 (2012) An act relating to contraception

13 Jan 2012 18:28:24 GMT

Law | Text of Florida State Senate Bill 598 - protection of conscience provisions

Conscience and modern (ie, democratic) totalitarianism

13 Jan 2012 18:22:39 GMT

Ethical Commentary | Rev. Robert John Araujo, S.J. | My objective here is to examine the exercise of conscience and religious liberty in a particular light removed from the drama and heroism of peaceful civil disobedience. My effort is designed to look at the nature of properly formed conscience and the corresponding exercise of religious freedom and what it may mean in the context of the United States and other western democracies today.

Warning that protection of conscience laws may enable euthanasia

12 Jan 2012 17:49:13 GMT

News | Burke J. Balch, J.D., director of National Right to Life Committee's Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics in the USA, has warned that protection of conscience laws like the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act and Mississippi's Health Care Rights of Conscience Act are dangerous because they may permit health care workers to commit euthanasia by withdrawing or refusing to provide medical treatment for reasons of conscience.

Assisted suicide to be debated in British House of Commons

12 Jan 2012 17:47:45 GMT

News | The Commons Backbench Business Committee has decided that the House of Commons in the United Kingdom will debate the assisted suicide guidelines published by the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2010. The guidelines had the effect of leaving the regulation of assisted suicide in the hands of police and Crown Counsel, though the practice remained a criminal offence.

Misconduct in scientific research acknowledged in United Kingdom

12 Jan 2012 17:45:57 GMT

News | A survey published in the British Medical Journal found that more than 10% of British scientists or physicians have witnessed intentional fabrication of data during research, and 6% were aware that research misconduct had not been properly investigated.

Mixed message from US government for victims of unethical medical research

10 Jan 2012 17:44:33 GMT

News | From 1946 to 1948, American and Guatemalan physicians infected prostitutes and prisoners with syphilis without their knowledge or consent in order to test penicillin. The research was discovered by a Wellesley College professor in 2009, and lawyers for the victims filed a class-action lawsuit against the United States.

British member of European Parliament favours assisted suicide

9 Jan 2012 17:42:43 GMT

News | Member of the Euopean Parliament Roger Helmer has written in favour of assisted suicide on grounds beyond those recommended by a recent report by a private commission, advocating the availability of the procedure for those not terminally ill.

American College of Physicians acknowledges freedom of conscience

8 Jan 2012 21:42:43 GMT

News | The American College of Physicians has acknowledged that physicians who object to "abortion, sterilization, contraception or other reproductive services . . . is not obligated to recommend, perform or prescribe them." The statement is in the most recent edition of the College's Ethics Manual.

United Kingdom report recommends compulsory referral for assisted suicide

4 Jan 2012 21:41:37 GMT

News | A report produced by a privately established and funded Commission on Assisted Dying has recommended that assisted suicide be legalized in the United Kingdom for any competent person over 18 years old who is terminally ill and expected to live less than 12 months. It also recommends that physicians who refuse to assist with suicide for reasons of conscience be compelled to refer patients to colleagues who will do so

Abortion and Prince Edward Island

2 Jan 2012 17:39:36 GMT

Background | Sean Murphy | The attempt to characterize the exercise of freedom of conscience by physicians as 'professional misconduct' may surprise Islanders who remember the promises made when abortion was legalized in Canada over forty years ago.

Continued vigilance urged in New Jersey

28 Dec 2011 21:40:32 GMT

News | Congressman Chris Smith, who supported objecting nurses against the hospital run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey when it attempted to involve them in abortions, states that the hospital should adopt transparent policies to ensure that freedom of conscience will continue to be respected in the institution.

Hospital reaches agreement with objecting nurses

23 Dec 2011 21:39:37 GMT

News | The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has agreed not to replace objecting nurses who have filed suit against the University Hospital, or reduce their hours. The nurses have agreed to protect patients in an emergency until someone else can attend to assist.

Victory for pro-life nurses in lawsuit against NJ hospital

23 Dec 2011 17:37:55 GMT

News Release | Alliance Defence Fund | As a result of a federal court hearing Thursday, a New Jersey hospital has agreed that it will not force nurses to assist with abortion cases. Alliance Defense Fund attorneys represent 12 nurses who filed suit against the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey after the hospital sought to require the nurses to help with abortion cases in violation of federal and state law.

Colorado Christian university first Evangelical university to fight abortificaient mandate

21 Dec 2011 17:48:16 GMT

News Release | Becket Fund for Religious Liberty | Colorado Christian University (CCU) today became the first interdenominational Christian college to challenge in federal court a new “Affordable Care Act” (aka “Obamacare”) mandate for abortifacients (drugs which induce abortions). Colorado Christian joins the monks at Belmont Abbey College pushing back against government intrusion into personal religious convictions that is unprecedented in the health care realm.

Letter to President Obama from 60 non-Catholic organizations

21 Dec 2011 19:40:04 GMT

Legal Commentary | Mr. President, religious organizations beyond the Catholic community have deep moral objections to a requirement that their health insurance plans must cover abortifacients. Religious organizations beyond the Catholic community object to the current narrow exemption which puts them outside the definition of “religious employers.” And religious organizations beyond the Catholic community object to any revision of the exemption that would limit it to churches and denominationally affiliated organizations.

Conscience exemptions and the press

21 Dec 2011 17:40:43 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | Several Catholic institutions have made it clear that if the conscience exemption is not broadened, they will stop offering health insurance to their employees or, if a college to their students, rather than bow to the pressure to subsidize insurance coverage for procedures they fund morally objectionable.

Evangelical college sues US federal government for violating freedom of conscience

21 Dec 2011 21:38:16 GMT

News | Colorado Christian University (CCU) has begun a civil suit against the US federal government for suppression of religious freedom and freedom of conscience. While the university does not object to paying for contraception, it does object to paying for drugs or devices that could have embryocidal or abortifacient effects, even if they are described as contraceptives.

60 non-Catholic groups write President to defend freedom of conscience

21 Dec 2011 21:37:12 GMT

News | Representatives of 60 non-Catholic groups have sent a letter to President Barak Obama expressing their solidarity with Catholics and Catholic institutions and their own objections to the Obama administration's plans to force employers to pay for contraceptives, embryocides and abortifacients, even if they object to such drugs or services for reasons of conscience.

Conscience clauses needed worldwide for medical professionals

17 Dec 2011 19:41:42 GMT

Op/Ed | Rebecca Taylor | The moral conscience of health care providers is under attack. Increasingly they are being forced to provide medical services that go against their moral beliefs

British General Medical Council drawing up guidelines for assisted suicide

15 Dec 2011 21:35:21 GMT

News | Britain's General Medical Council (GMC) is considering how it should deal with physicians who are accused of assisting people to commit suicide, but who are not prosecuted. . . . In effect, police and prosecutors have become regulators of the practice. If they decide not to prosecute a physician who has assisted a suicide, the GMC is left with the problem of what, if anything, should be done by way of discipline. In addition, some kinds of more indirect assistance that would not support prosecution might give rise to complaints of professional misconduct.

Abortion ideology trumps aid for victims of human trafficking

7 Dec 2011 18:43:38 GMT

Society/Politics | Jonathon Imbody | The decision to insist on submission to its abortion ideology as a condition for federal grants illustrates the depth of the administration’s radical abortion policy and its increasingly obvious disdain for conscience rights and religious freedom.

Assisted suicide initiative in conflict with physicians in Massachusetts

7 Dec 2011 21:33:45 GMT

News | An initiative supporting an assisted suicide bill has secured enough signatures to bring the bill to a ballot in 2012. Although the bill states that participation in the procedure must be "entirely voluntary," participation is defined to exclude referral. Thus, the bill would, if enacted, support compulsory referral by physicians for assisted suicide, something that would be incompatible with the position of the Massachusetts Medical Society. It would also require objecting institutions not only to permit referral, but would require them to permit physicians in their facilities to contract for off-premises provision of assisted suicide.

Planned Parenthood opposes freedom of conscience in Florida

4 Dec 2011 21:32:40 GMT

News | A bill in the Florida State Senate that will ensure that insurance plans covering contraceptives will not impose long waiting periods or steep co-payments on employees. Nancy Detert's Bill 598 includes a protection of conscience provision provision to ensure that religious employers are not forced to cover contraceptives that are contrary to their religious convictions. However, Planned Parenthood is protesting the exemption, demanding that employers be forced to pay for procedures or services they believe to be wrong.

Conscience v. Conscience

3 Dec 2011 19:43:01 GMT

Legal Commentary | Marc O. DeGirolami | The right question is not whether the religious institution’s conscience should “trump” the individual’s conscience. If the health care law contains an exemption for religious employers, the individual woman is not being prevented from obtaining contraceptive services. She is only losing the power to compel her religious employer (for whom, one should expect, she agreed to work voluntarily) to pay for her contraceptive services.

Hospital hires additional staff to cover for objecting nurses

3 Dec 2011 21:31:36 GMT

News | The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will hire additional staff to perform work related to abortions that 12 of 16 nurses working at the Same Day Surgery Unit at the University Hospital refuse to perform for reasons of conscience.

Catholic pride and conscience exemptions

1 Dec 2011 17:41:47 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | Polls may indicate that many Catholics do not agree with the teaching of their bishops about contraception, but those same Catholics will not take kindly to any efforts to tell them how to run their schools, hospitals and social service agencies.

Physicians in United Kingdom warned against facilitating assisted suicide

30 Nov 2011 21:23:13 GMT

News | The Medical Defence Union in the United Kingdom, the organization that defends physicians accused of malpractice or unethical conduct, has warned its members that they could be prosecuted if they provide medical records to a patient when they have reason to believe that the records will be used to access assisted suicide.

Conscience rights, nurses and abortion

29 Nov 2011 17:42:48 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | . . .there are circumstances in which the issue of religious liberty can be invoked in ways that cloud the issue or, worse from my point of view, misunderstand what religion calls us to do. The facts of a case matter.

Indonesia considers population control law

29 Nov 2011 21:22:10 GMT

News | The government of Indonesia is considering the possibility of imposing legal limits to population growth. It is thought that local governments would become more active in population control if such legislation were passed. Government enforced regulations restricting births would have a significant impact on health care professionals who object to some forms of birth control or abortion.

Freedom of conscience for pharmacists on trial in Washington

28 Nov 2011 21:21:05 GMT

News | A trial begins today in Washington State in the case of Stormans v. Selecky. The plaintiffs include a family-owned pharmacy and two individual pharmacists, who have religious objections to dispensing Plan B and ella. Their religious beliefs forbid them from dispensing these drugs because they can operate as embryocides. A Washington State regulation demands that they dispense the drugs despite their objections.

Conscience, MSNBC & Commonweal

18 Nov 2011 17:44:59 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | Is it really an assault on others' rights to permit Catholic colleges, or hospitals, or social service agencies, to be distinctly Catholic? It is almost comic to see liberals championing the Dalai Lama, whose cause is a theocratic one, however humane it may be, while demeaning the Catholic hierarchy as a threat to liberalism. Is it the saffron robes?

Group encourages complaints against objecting physicians

24 Nov 2011 21:19:47 GMT

News | The P.E.I. Reproductive Rights Organization (PEIRRO) was formed to lobby for easier access to abortion. Proposals least likely to impact freedom of conscience for health care workers involve dropping the requirement for physician referrals, paying for abortions done in clinics and paying the associated travel costs. However, PEIRRO also encourages people to make complaints of professional misconduct against physicians who decline to refer for abortion for reasons of conscience.

Royal Society of Canada recommends legalization of assisted suicide, euthanasia and compulsory referral

23 Nov 2011 21:18:21 GMT

News | The Royal Society of Canada, which describes itself as "a national organization of distinguished scholars, artists and scientists," has published a report advocating legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The report also recommends that objecting health care professionals be forced to facilitate the services by referral.

New Jersey hospital files brief opposing injunction supporting objectors

22 Nov 2011 21:16:58 GMT

News | The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has filed a brief opposing an injunction being sought to protect nurses who object to participating in abortions. The brief claims that nurses have not been made to assist with the procedures, nor will they be asked to do so, but have only been asked to provide pre-operative and post-operative care that some of them have provided in the past without objection.

Obama's choice

21 Nov 2011 17:43:50 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | I do not believe the President is hostile to religion, but if he fails to expand the conscience exemption, I could not make the case with a straight face.

Attempt to discuss accommodation of objecting nurses rejected

21 Nov 2011 21:15:46 GMT

News | Lawyers representing 12 nurses who object to abortion have returned to court alleging that the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is attempting to impose adverse changes in their employment or assignments. The new complaint arises from a letter to the nurses asking them to attend meetings to discuss accommodation of their concerns.

New Zealand Medical Council accepts ruling on freedom of conscience

21 Nov 2011 21:14:33 GMT

News | The New Zealand Medical Council has withdrawn its appeal of the judgment of Justice MacKenzie given in the High Court in Wellington in December 2010. The judgment held that a medical practitioner who objected to abortion for reasons of conscience was not obliged to refer for the procedure.

NJ hospital threatens employment discrimination against pro-life nurses despite court order

21 Nov 2011 17:36:13 GMT

News Release | Alliance Defence Fund | Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing 12 pro-life nurses filed a motion for an emergency court order Friday against the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In violation of an existing court order, UMDNJ is attempting to force the nurses into meetings that would impose discriminatory job “transfer” and other “changes” to their employment solely because of their objections to helping with abortions.

A victory for conscience and a culture of life

21 Nov 2011 17:34:56 GMT

News Release | Right to Life New Zealand | Right to Life welcomes the decision of the New Zealand Medical Council not to proceed with its appeal to the Court of Appeal of the judgment of Justice MacKenzie given in the High Court in Wellington in December 2010. The judgment stated that a medical practioner who was opposed in conscience to abortions was not obliged to refer a woman seeking an abortion to another doctor who would facilitate the abortion.

Most US obstetrician/gynaecologists reject ACOG definition of pregnancy

18 Nov 2011 21:13:23 GMT

News | A survey of 1800 American obstetrician/gynaelecologists with a response rate of 66% found that over half of the respondents believe that pregnancy begins at conception rather than implantation. The finding is significant because it demonstrates that a significant number of practitioners reject redefinions of pregnancy proposed by groups like the by institutions like the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG).

US politician dismisses "this conscience thing"

17 Nov 2011 21:12:06 GMT

News | Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader (Democratic Party) in the US House of Representatives, told a Washington Post Reporter that she opposes freedom of conscience for health care workers opposed to abortion because they would allow women to "die on the floor." She complained that abortion opponents "have this conscience thing."

Opposition to Philippines Reproductive Health bill preventing passage

16 Nov 2011 21:10:55 GMT

News | Philippines House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II states that the controversial Reproductive Health Bill is unlikely to come to a vote before 2012 because, for the time being, there are enough members of congress opposed to it to prevent its passage.

Most physicians in British Columbia not supportive of assisted suicide

14 Nov 2011 21:07:46 GMT

News | Dr. Douglas McGregor, regional director of palliative care for the Vancouver Coast Health Authority, has testified that physicians value and esteem life “above everything else.” Identifying that as his own conviction, he stated that he did not think that many of his colleagues would take a different view.

"Nurses of conscience" say NO to abortion coercion at UMDNJ

14 Nov 2011 17:32:34 GMT

News Release | Rep. Chris Smith | It is an honor and privilege to join these courageous “nurses of conscience” who at great risk of being fired, demoted or otherwise retaliated against, have asserted their fundamental civil rights guaranteed by both federal and state law by saying “no” to coerced participation in the killing of unborn children at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

US congressman supports objecting New Jersey nurses

14 Nov 2011 21:09:00 GMT

News | Appearing at a news conference in front of the hospital run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Representative Chris Smith described the hospital's policy on abortion as "coercive," "highly unethical" and "blatantly illegal."

Australian physicians form lobby group for euthanasia

13 Nov 2011 21:06:42 GMT

News | Doctors for Voluntary Euthanasia Choice has been formed in Australia by physicians supporting legalization of the procedure. The group plans to make submissions to the parliaments of South Australia and Tasmania.

Complaints against exercise of freedom of conscience by pharmacist in UK

12 Nov 2011 21:05:33 GMT

News | A pharmacist at a Boots Pharmacy in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool, England, has been criticized for refusing to dispense the morning after pill for reasons of conscience.

New Jersey hospital accused of lying

11 Nov 2011 21:04:15 GMT

News | A lawyer for the Alliance Defence Fund (ADF) has accused the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey of lying about the abortion policy at the University Hospital. Responding to an e-mail from a lawyer representing the University, Matt Bowman states that the ADF went to court to prevent two of the objecting nurses from being forced to assist with abortions, which seems to refer to assignments to pre-operative and post-operative care.

Belmont Abbey sues US federal government for attack on freedom of conscience

10 Nov 2011 21:00:30 GMT

News | Assisted by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Belmont Abbey, a small Catholic liberal arts college in North Carolina, has filed a civil suit against the US government because of a regulation that would force it to pay for contraceptives, embryocides and abortifacients for students or terminate all health insurance plans for employees or students.

Bemont Abbey College sues the federal government over new Obamacare mandate

10 Nov 2011 16:02:44 GMT

News Release | The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty | Today, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Belmont Abbey College over the “Affordable Care Act” (aka “Obamacare”), that forces the College to violate its deeply-held religious beliefs or pay a severe fine. The heart of the lawsuit involves the recently issued Health and Human Services’ mandate that requires thousands of religious organizations to provide, against their conscience, contraceptives they consider to be abortifacients—namely Plan B and Ella—and sterilization.

Widespread neglect of elderly alleged in hospitals in United Kindom

9 Nov 2011 20:59:02 GMT

News | The Patients Association in the United Kingdom has issued what the Daily Mail calls "a damning report . . .that has revealed a catalogue of abuse" in British state hospitals. As a result of pressure from the Daily Mail and the Patients Association, the Care Quality Commission conducted hospital inspections and found that "in a fifth of them the care was so bad they were breaking the law."

IVF mother admits error in having child at 57

7 Nov 2011 20:57:43 GMT

News | A woman who used in vitro fertilization to achieve a pregnancy at age 57 now concedes that her critics were right in asserting that she was too old to have a child. Her relationship with the father of the child ended because of the "shock" of having a baby.

Threats to freedom of conscience could have far-reaching consequences

4 Nov 2011 19:55:57 GMT

Society/Politics | David Crockett | . . . alas, the assault on conscience has begun, led by various forces in government, academia and pressure groups. The most common threats come in the areas of health care, religious integrity and nondiscrimination policies.

Religious liberty: the culture and the Church

4 Nov 2011 17:46:07 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | The current debate on religious liberty has arisen in the specific context of a discussion about conscience rights, and there is a danger here to our cultural understandings. Fellow leftie Catholics, please take note. The rights of conscience in the civic sphere do not correspond to any rights to conscience within the Church.

Judges issues temporary injunction to protect objecting nurses

3 Nov 2011 20:56:25 GMT

News | A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits a hospital run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey from forcing any of 12 objecting nurses who have sued the facility to participate in training or services related to abortions.

Court temporarily stops NJ hospital from forcing nurses to participate in abortions

3 Nov 2011 17:25:05 GMT

News Release | Alliance Defence Fund | A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that prohibits a New Jersey hospital from forcing any of 12 nurses that sued the facility to participate in training or services related to abortions. The order, which the hospital agreed to, is in effect until the court decides whether to issue any additional order at a Nov. 18 hearing.

Ontario experts seek mandatory abortion training, referral

3 Nov 2011 20:54:51 GMT

News | The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in Ontario has fully funded and published a report from an "expert panel" recommending mandatory abortion training for medical and nursing students, and mandatory referral and facilitation of abortion by all medical practitioners, including those who object to the procedure.

Evidence taken at hearing of government attack on freedom of conscience

2 Nov 2011 20:53:26 GMT

News | The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health held a hearing on the subject, Do New Health Care Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care? In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the committee, Joseph R. Pitts, commented that "we should universally support the notion that the federal government should be prohibited from taking coercive actions to force people to abandon their religious principles."

US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health

2 Nov 2011 16:22:01 GMT

Legal Commentary | Do New Health Care Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care? | Jane G. Belford | Our Catholic schools, hospitals, clinics, and social service programs serve tens of thousands of non-Catholics. No one is required to become Catholic in order to receive these services. Yet this mandate would require us to violate our religious beliefs to serve them.

US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health

2 Nov 2011 16:19:50 GMT

Legal Commentary | Do New Health Care Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care? | David L. Stevens, MD | The potential "religious exemption" in the contraception mandate--exempting only a nano-sector of "religious employers" from the guidelines--is meaningless to conscientiously objecting health care professionals, insurers and patients.

US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health

2 Nov 2011 16:09:14 GMT

Legal Commentary | Do New Health Care Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care? | William J. Cox | A fundamental principle of religious freedom is the right of religious institutions to autonomy in their self-definition and governance. Simply stated, churches and religious institutions have the right to define and govern themselves free from government interference and entanglement. The HHS exemption violates this right by redefining Catholic institutional ministries in a manner that excludes central elements of their faith.

US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health

2 Nov 2011 16:06:36 GMT

Legal Commentary | Do New Health Care Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care? | Hon. Joseph R. Pitts | Groups who have for centuries cared for the sick and poor will now be forced to violate their religious beliefs if they want to continue to serve their communities. Whether one supports or opposes the health care law, we should universally support the notion that the federal government should be prohibited from taking coercive actions to force people to abandon their religious principles.

HHS and religious liberty

1 Nov 2011 17:47:12 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | If HHS intentionally discriminated against the Catholic Church in the awarding of grants, that violates the First Amendment. If, however, HHS set a requirement, and the Church feels it is unable to meet that requirement for its own moral reasons, I do not discern a religious liberty issue: Again, the Church does not have a “right” to a government contract. But, it is incumbent upon HHS officials to make it clear what motivated them and a series of congressional hearings on the matter would certainly help illuminate what is now hidden.

Cardinal calls for greater conscience protection in health care reform on eve of subcommittee hearing

1 Nov 2011 16:05:14 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | Congress should strengthen conscience protections for health care providers and ensure that health care reform measures do not impede religious liberty, said the U.S. bishops’ chairman of Pro-Life Activities on the eve of a hearing by the House Subcommittee on Health, “Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?”

12 nurses sue NJ hospital for forcing them to participate in abortions

1 Nov 2011 17:23:55 GMT

News Release | Alliance Defence Fund | Twelve nurses represented by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit Monday against their employer, a hospital run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, for requiring them to participate in abortions. Federal and state law both protect them from being forced to do so.

US cardinal protests federal government attack on freedom of conscience

1 Nov 2011 20:50:32 GMT

News | Writing to Joseph R. Pitts, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo thanked him for scheduling a hearing into the effects of a new federal regulation. The Cardinal observed that the protection of conscience exemption in the regulation is wholly inadequate. “Jesus and the apostles would not be ‘religious enough’ under such a test, as they served and healed people of different religions,” he wrote.

Experts suggest organ harvesting without declaration of death

27 Oct 2011 20:42:01 GMT

News | Two experts have proposed that the practice of waiting until death has been pronounced before organs are harvested should be dropped, and that new standards should permit the removal of vital organs from living patients. Instead, they propose that guidelines should ensure that donors are "beyond suffering" and that their autonomy is respected.

Contraception and abortion services will be mandatory in state health system

27 Oct 2011 20:40:41 GMT

News | The Secretary of State for the United Kingdom states that it is the British government plans to pass regulations that will required local health authorities to provide "appropriate access to contraception and abortion services."

Scots MP plans another attempt to legalize euthanasia

26 Oct 2011 20:39:42 GMT

News | Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald is planning to introduce a new version of an assisted suicide bill that was rejected by the Scottish Parliament last year.[

Catholic bishop testifies before judiciary committee

26 Oct 2011 20:38:27 GMT

News | The Chair of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, Bishop Lori of Bridgeport, testified before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee about the threats to freedom of conscience and religion posed by policies and regulations now being implemented by the US federal government.

US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee

26 Oct 2011 16:24:03 GMT

Legal Commentary | Most Rev. C. Lori | Religious liberty is also prior to the state itself. It is not merely a privilege that the government grants us and so may take away at will. Instead, religious liberty is inherent in our very humanity, hard-wired into each and every one of us by our Creator. Thus government has a perennial obligation to acknowledge and protect religious liberty as fundamental, no matter the moral and political trends of the moment.

Cooking up a healthy portion of conscience

22 Oct 2011 16:33:50 GMT

Ethical Commentary | Donald DeMarco | It is a commonplace misunderstanding of freedom that it is something negative and somehow becomes more itself to the degree that it is separated from knowledge. . . . Another common misconception is that conscience can operate alone, apart from objective truth. But conscience does not create truth, but discovers it.

UN bureaucrat urges decriminalization of abortion as matter of right

25 Oct 2011 20:37:16 GMT

News | Special Rapporteur on Health Anand Grover has submitted a report to the UN General Assembly demanding the removal of all legal restrictions on abortion, claiming that access to abortion is required by human rights law. The Holy See reminded the General Assembly that no right to abortion exists in international law.

US senator opposes Obama regulation, supports freedom of conscience

21 Oct 2011 20:35:54 GMT

News | American Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has joined those supporting the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011, which would ensure freedom of conscience for religious health care providers whose beliefs conflict with demands to provide services arising from US health care reform.

UK nurses warned not to discuss assisted suicide or euthanasia

20 Oct 2011 20:34:30 GMT

News | The Royal College of Nursing plans to issue guidelines to remind nurses that it is illegal to offer information about assisted dying, including contact information for those willing to provide the procedure, in case the provision of information might be seen as ‘encouragement’.

Abortion committee upholds right of conscience

19 Oct 2011 16:25:57 GMT

News Release | Right to Life New Zealand | Right to Life commends the Abortion Supervisory Committee for promoting protection for clinicians who refuse to perform or assist in abortions on the grounds of conscience.

New Zealand decision in favour of freedom of conscience

19 Oct 2011 20:33:10 GMT

A case in New Zealand indicates the importance of protection of conscience legislation. A technician working for the Canterbury District Health Board was threatened with dismissal if she did not help to prepare instruments to be used for abortions. She refused to do so for reasons of conscience and sought advice from Right to Life New Zealand, which brought the case to the attention of the Abortion Supervisory Committee. As a result, the Committee wrote to all district health boards in the country to remind them of the protection of conscience provisions in New Zealand law. The employer withdrew the threat of dismissal.

Lesbian couple suppresses puberty in 11 year old son to facilitate sex change decision

18 Oct 2011 20:31:54 GMT

News | An eleven year old boy in California is being given hormone blockers by his lesbian guardians to arrest puberty because they say that he wants to be a girl. Their plan is to continue delaying puberty until he is 14 or 15 and makes a decision about a sex change.

Obama administration cuts funding to Catholics for refusing contraception

17 Oct 2011 20:27:39 GMT

News | The Obama administration has refused to continue funding an anti-human trafficking programme run by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services because the organization will not provide abortion, contraception or sterilizations.

Hospitals in UK use secret DNR orders to end patient lives

15 Oct 2011 20:26:08 GMT

News | A spot check of 100 National Health Service hospitals by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the United Kingdom has found that in at least five hospitals, staff routinely completed do-not-resuscitate orders for elderly patients without notifying the patients or their families. Numerous cases of neglect were also documented

Bill passed in US House supports freedom of conscience

14 Oct 2011 20:24:59 GMT

News | The US House of Representatives has passed HR 358, a bill that includes protection of conscience measures and restricts the use of federal funds in paying for insurance coverage for abortion. President Obama will veto the bill if it passes Congress.

Philippines senate puts controversial bill on hold

13 Oct 2011 20:23:31 GMT

News | The Reproductive Health Bill has stalled in the Philippines Senate because of the need to begin discussion of the national budget. Debate on the controversial bill is expected to resume in the new year.

California Catholic Colleges oppose Obama adminstration demand to pay for contraceptives

13 Oct 2011 20:14:11 GMT

News | A number of Catholic Colleges in the San Francisco Bay area are protesting the federal regulation that would force them to pay for contraceptives. Saint Mary's College, the University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University were among those who sent letters to the Department of Health and Human Services.

20 Catholic leaders protest attack on freedom of conscience by Obama administration

12 Oct 2011 20:11:44 GMT

News | In a joint statement published in two Capitol Hill newspapers, the leaders of 20 national Catholic organizations have protested the “preventive services” regulation issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and called for legal protection of freedom of conscience in health care.

Support access to health care? Protect conscience rights

11 Oct 2011 17:22:31 GMT

News Release | Catholic Representatives | We, the undersigned, strongly support access to life-affirming health care for all, and the ability of secular and religious groups and individuals to provide and receive such care. That is why we have raised objections to a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forcing almost all private health plans to cover sterilization procedures and contraceptive drugs, including drugs that may cause an early abortion.

US senators support freedom of conscience against Obama adminstration

6 Oct 2011 20:10:29 GMT

News | Nebraska Senators Mike Johanns and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and 26 other US Senators have sent letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebellius concerning her department's intention to force employers to pay for morally controversial services despite conscientious objection.

2012 presidential candidate supports freedom of conscience

6 Oct 2011 20:09:25 GMT

News | Ron Paul, who is seeking nomination as a Republican candidate for the US Presidency in 2012, has announced that he supports those seeking "authentic opportunity" to refuse to provide services or procedures like abortion or contraception for reasons of conscience.

Individual vs. institutional freedom of conscience at issue in US Supreme Court case

6 Oct 2011 20:07:39 GMT

The US Federal Government is contesting the view that there is a constitutional "ministerial exemption" for churches that prevents the government from intervening in disputes between ecclesiastical ministers and their superiors. Justices of the court commented that the position of the US Solicitor General was "extraordinary"

Hatch, Johanns spearhead letter to HHS on women's preventive service mandates

6 Oct 2011 16:27:19 GMT

News Release | Senator Orrin Hatch | U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska), and 26 of their Senate colleagues have written to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to press her on the constitutional concerns associated with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implementation of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommendations for preventive health services mandates.

Ron Paul statement on new Obamacare\HHS regulation

6 Oct 2011 16:32:11 GMT

News Release | Ron Paul | I am deeply troubled by the flippancy with which President Obama recently discussed regulations that are alarming and troublesome for many Americans. Not all Americans are comfortable with the Obama administration's decision to mandate coverage of birth control and morning-after pills, and the considerations of these people, many of them Christian conservatives, are worthy of careful consideration -- not mockery.

Letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from 28 US Senators

5 Oct 2011 16:29:18 GMT

Legal Commentary | Letter from US Senators |. . . your adoption of IOM’s recommendations without amendment threatens the ability of many religious employers to continue to offer health coverage to their employees consistent with their beliefs.

US congressman protests attack on freedom of conscience by federal department

4 Oct 2011 20:06:14 GMT

News | Pennsylvania Congressman Tim Murphy has protested the Department of Health and Human Services regulation that will force employers to provide contraceptives and other services, even if they object to the services for reasons of conscience.

French physicians increasingly object to providing abortion

29 Sep 2011 20:04:34 GMT

News | An anonymous physician writing on a French language blog asserts that doctors in France are increasinlgy unwilling to perform abortions, and tolerate rather than accept the practice. Most apparently refuse to be involved for reasons of conscience.

US Catholic bishops form committee for religious liberty

29 Sep 2011 19:26:55 GMT

News | Citing serious challenges to religious liberty by the American government, the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty.

Presidenet of Notre Dame University reminds Obama of promise

28 Sep 2011 19:25:37 GMT

News | The President of Notre Dame University has reminded the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services that President Obama promised to support "a sensible conscience clause." Rev. John Jenkins points out that a "sensible conscience clause" is lacking in the proposed regulation that would force Catholic institutions to pay for contraception and potentially embryocidal or abortificaient services.

Saskatchewan physician guidelines in dispute

26 Sep 2011 19:24:22 GMT

News | Seven Regina physicians have written to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan, the regulatory authority for the province's physicians, to complain about a Guideline for Unplanned Pregnancy adopted earlier this year. While the letter questions the need for guidelines at all, it also appears to suggest that objecting physicians should be forced to refer patients for abortions if they are unwilling to perform or recommend the procedure themselves.

UN committee fabricates claim in attempt to force abortion on Ireland

24 Sep 2011 19:22:48 GMT

News | The UN Committee Against Torture has issued a report that demands that Ireland legalize abortion, suggesting that this is required by the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. [CAT Report]. The claim is a fabrication.

Catholic Health Association speaks out on freedom of conscience

23 Sep 2011 19:21:43 GMT

News | The Catholic Health Association has filed comments supporting freedom of conscience for health care workers and institutions and protesting plans by the federal Department of Health and Human Services to revoke a regulation passed by the previous administration.

Most Portuguese physicians would refuse to provide euthanasia

23 Sep 2011 19:20:30 GMT

News | Responding to proposals to legalize euthanasia in Portugal, Miguel Oliveira da Silva, president of Portugal’s National Ethics Council for Life Sciences, states that 80 to 90 percent of Portuguese physicians would refuse to provide the procedure.

Catholic college in Colorado contemplates conscientious objection

21 Sep 2011 19:18:51 GMT

News | Regis University, a Jesuit institution in Colorado, is considering its legal options as a result of a new Colorado statute that demands that insurance plans provide contraceptives and potentially embryocidal or abortifacient drugs or devices.

US bishops continue to speak out on freedom of conscience

20 Sep 2011 19:16:52 GMT

News | Catholic Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Wilmington Bishop W. Francis Malooly have written to US Dept. of Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to protest the proposed regulation that would force employers to provide insurance for DA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures and related educational services. They describe the proposal as "a radically new and unprecedented attack on religious freedom.”

Right to health and right to euthanasia and assisted suicide

16 Sep 2011 19:14:44 GMT

News | A report by Special Rapporteur Anand Grover to the 18th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (Thematic study on the realization of the right to health of older persons) drew a warning from a representative of the Holy See, which noted that Grover introduced the topic of euthanasia and assisted suicide within the context of a discussion of "a holistic approach to health" that addresses "the process of dying."

Trade unions in United Kingdom seek protection of conscience rules

12 Sep 2011 18:23:50 GMT

News | 58 trade unions representing 6 1/2 million workers in the United Kingdom have unanimously voted to support a "conscience clause" to protect journalists who refuse to participate in unethical activities.

Controversy in Philippines continues over reproductive health bill

10 Sep 2011 18:21:17 GMT

News | The Philippines Congress has resumed consideration of a controversial Reproductive Health Bill bill that presents a threat to freedom of conscience among health care workers. The head of the country's Catholic Bishops' Conference said earlier this week that the Church's oppostion to the bill is “non-negotiable.”

Second court case in Canada seeks assisted suicide

10 Sep 2011 18:01:03 GMT

News | A Quebec woman suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is planning a challenge to Canada's law against assisted suicide. Her lawyer plans to launch the civil suit in the Quebec Superior Court.

Former UK physician continues to assist people seeking suicide

10 Sep 2011 18:20:06 GMT

News | 80 year old Dr. Michael Irwin of England, who was struck from the medical register for attempting to assist someone to commit suicide, publicly acknowledges that he frequently provides advice to people who want to go to Switzerland to commit suicide.

Claim: US medical schools discriminate against conscientious objectors

8 Sep 2011 17:59:06 GMT

News | Daniel Kuebler, Ph.D, a professor of biology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, has published a column in the National Catholic Register that claims that medical schools in the United States discriminate against medical school applicants who have conscientious objections to abortion.

Dutch Medical Association demands referral for euthanasia

8 Sep 2011 17:56:31 GMT

News | The Dutch Physicians Association (KNMG) has published a policy on physician invovlement in euthanasia and assisted suicide that acknowledges that there is no right to the procedures in law, that the procedures are not part of the standard care offered by physicians, and that the views of physicians who object to the procedures must be respected. However, the policy also demands that objecting physicians promptly refer patients for euthanasia or assisted suicide.

US Catholic bishops urge Congress to support freedom of conscience

7 Sep 2011 17:55:17 GMT

News | Wrting on behalf of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo has urged the US Congress to support two bills that would support freedom of conscience currently denied under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (see HR1179 Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011, and S1467 - Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011).

Cardinal reaffirms support for Respect for Rights of Conscience Act

7 Sep 2011 16:00:34 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | Congress should support a bill (H.R. 1179, S. 1467) that will close gaps in protection of conscience rights in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), especially in light of the threat to conscience rights posed by a new mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston in a September 7 letter to Congress.

Irish senator addresses freedom of conscience in health care

3 Sep 2011 17:51:27 GMT

News | Speaking in Rome, Irish senator Ronan Mullen stated, “The challenge in a pluralist society is to accommodate people's freedom on conscience while at the same time acknowledging that what is lawful is going to go on in that society.”

Administrative legalization of assisted suicide in United Kingdom

3 Sep 2011 17:53:30 GMT

News | While assisted suicide is a criminal offence, the guidelines permit prosecution only in circumstances in which someone is pressured to commit suicide or the person assisting profits from their death. In essence, police and Crown counsel are acting as regulators of the practice. The advantage to this arrangement for objecting health care workers is that they cannot be pressured to assist in what remains (technically) a criminal offence.

Objecting Spanish physician would quit medicine

2 Sep 2011 17:49:51 GMT

News | Dr. Esteban Rodriguez Martin, a Spanish gynecologist, began a court case in 2008 to defend his freedom to refuse to be complicit in abortions. He has limited his practice to working with women in their third trimesters in order to avoid having to provide prenatal diagnoses that are usually used to facilitate eugenic abortions. He acknowledges that, if he loses the case, he may have to quit the practice of medicine.

US Conference of Catholic Bishops protests contraceptive mandate

31 Aug 2011 17:14:19 GMT

News | The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has submitted a comment on the interim regulation promulgated by the US Department of Health and Human Services that will force employers to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives.

Prominent RCs write to Sebelius on conscience protections

26 Aug 2011 15:58:46 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | These are the kinds of Catholics that the Obama administration has reached out to in the past, especially during the battle over health care reform, and so the impact of their call for more expansive conscience protections is likely to be heard in the White House. Indeed, the full list reads like a "Who's Who" of prominent Catholics whose politics tilt to the left.

Study suggests most US obstetricians will not perform abortions

24 Aug 2011 12:50:17 GMT

News | A survey of 1800 US obstetrician/gynaecologists found that 97% had encountered patients seeking abortion, but only 14% were willing to provide the procedure. ("Abortion Provision Among Practicing Obstetrician–Gynecologists." Stulberg, Debra B. MD, MAPP; Dude, Annie M. MD, PhD; Dahlquist, Irma BS; Curlin, Farr A. MD. Obstetrics & Gynecology: September 2011 - Volume 118 - Issue 3 - p 609–614doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31822ad973). Given the constant demands that medical professionals provide abortions, the study underlines the importance of protection of conscience legislation.

Revised Utah protection of conscience statute

20 Aug 2011 22:23:15 GMT

Law | Text of revised Utah protection of conscience law.

Concerns for freedom of conscience among UK pharmacists

17 Aug 2011 19:48:19 GMT

News | The Telegraph reported earlier this month that a new guideline for pharmacists circulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (Britain's pharmacy regulator) told pharmacists "For the first time . . . that their right to conscientious objection on religious grounds is secondary to the contractual demands of employers, such as the NHS." A Catholic pharmacist quoted in the report was concerned that some pharmacists would become unemployable, and a spokesman for the Thomas More Legal Centre warned that the guideline went too far in requiring an objector to facilitate access to a controversial service by referral. [Telegraph] The Council has since issued a news release stating that no new guidelines have been issued, though an existing guideline had been re-published and circulated.[News release] The existing Code of Ethics (3.4) imposes an obligation on objectors to "refer patients and the public to other providers," which some would find unacceptable.

Hospital backs down when challenged by nurses

13 Aug 2011 19:45:11 GMT

News | Two nurses in the United Kingdom objected, for reasons of conscience, to working in a weekly medical abortion clinic in their hospital, where the abortifacient drug mifepristone was provided to patients. Hospital administration told them that they had no choice but to participate. The Thomas More Legal Centre wrote to the hospital, pointing out that the nurses had an absolute right to refuse to participate under the protection of conscience provision in the Abortion Act. The Center aslo warned the hospital that the Equality Act prohibited any discrimination against or harassment of the nurses based on their belief in the sanctity of life. The hospital first attempted to require the nurses to work in the clinic, without administering the drugs, but this was rejected as involving unacceptable complicity in the act of abortion. Ultimately, the hospital conceded the point and the nurses were assigned to other duties. [SPUC]

Equality legislation used to defend conscientioius objection to abortion

13 Aug 2011 19:57:42 GMT

Repression | John Smeaton | Congratulations to the Thomas More Legal Centre who successfully backed two nurses when they refused to work in a weekly abortion clinic in their hospital. As a result of their representations, the hospital backed down without the matter going to court.

Arizona Court of Appeals upholds state protection of conscience law

11 Aug 2011 15:50:07 GMT

Court Ruling | USA | Since Planned Parenthood had challenged the entire statute, which included protection of conscience measures, the Court of Appeal also dealt with and rejected Planned Parenthood's arguments against freedom of conscience for health care workers. That part of the judgement is reproduced below.

Mandatory contraceptive insurance coverage sparks controversy in USA

9 Aug 2011 19:39:55 GMT

News | The regulation promulgated by the US Department of Health and Human Services that employers will be required by law to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives has been welcomed by a number of commentators and interest groups. The Washington Post called it a "wise decision," and an editorial in a South Carolina newspaper said it makes "perfect sense." The Center for Reproductive Rights described it as "a tremendous victory for women," and it has been applauded by Planned Parenthood. However, the move has been denounced by freedom of conscience advocates, especially observant Catholics who are to be forced to directly pay for and facilitate what they consider to be gravely immoral conduct. It appears to have caught some of them by surprise. "They defied the bishops to support President Barack Obama's health care overhaul," wrote the Associated Press. "Now Catholic hospitals are dismayed the law may force them to cover birth control free of charge to their employees." The Association said that it is "very concerned about the inadequacy of the conscience protections" in the rules. A spokesman for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops noted that the protection of conscience provision is so narrowly written that it will not apply to most Catholic institutions. He asked if it was the government's intention to force the withdrawal of the Church from the provision of health care and social services. Similar criticisms were offered by a number of other commentators, including Michael Sean Winters. Writing in the National Catholic Reporter, he described the conscience provisions as "totally inadequate." The Catholic League for Relgious and Civil Rights called the situation "even more pernicious than it looks." It pointed out that the current administration is moving to deny funds to religious groups that preferentially hire from within their own denominations to administer their social programmes and institutions, yet the regulation limits protection for freedom of conscience to religious entities set up precisely in that way. "If they are too religious, Catholic social service agencies risk losing federal funds, but if Catholic hospitals are not sufficiently religious, they cannot be exempt from carrying health insurance policies that transgress their religious tenets."

New birth control requirements are a loss for conscience

9 Aug 2011 09:58:51 GMT

Op/Ed | Hannah C. Smith | Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new federal regulations that run roughshod over the moral conscience of many Americans.

Eggs harvested from dead woman

8 Aug 2011 19:38:19 GMT

News | The organs of a 17 year old woman who died after being struck by a car in Israel have been donated to four recipients. In addition, her family obtained a court order to harvest and freeze her eggs. For the moment, the hospital will not fertilize the ova without a court order. This is the first such incident in Israel. [Haaretz] The case illustrates the potential for conflicts of conscience among health care workers, both with respect to the harvesting of the eggs and their later fertilization and implantation.

"Ethics of the profession" in retrospect

4 Aug 2011 19:36:13 GMT

An ABC news report [North Carolina's History of Eugenics] has described the treatment of men, womena nd children who were sterilized during the 45 year span of a state sterilization programme operated on eugenic principles. "Eugenics in the U.S. is something that's still not nationally known. People associate it with Nazis; they don't realize that the U.S. did it too," says Rebecca Kluchin, an assistant professor of History at California State University, Sacramento who specializes in the U.S. eugenics programs." The story graphically illustrates that "the ethics of the profession" of medicine sometimes leave much to be desired, thus underlining the importance of preserving freedom of consience for health care workers.

Physician assisted suicide/euthanasia court challenge to be expedited

3 Aug 2011 16:32:11 GMT

News | The Supreme Court of British Columbia has agreed to expedite the hearing of a challenge to Canada's law against assisted suicide and euthanasia. The case will now begin on 15 November, 2011. The move is in response to a request from one of the plaintiff's, Gloria Taylor, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Taylor joined an action begun by three other plaintiffs and the BC Civil Liberties Association. The goal is to legalize physician-assisted suicide and physician-provided euthanasia. [Globe and Mail]

Regulation 45 CFR Part 147 (2011) Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

3 Aug 2011 15:46:47 GMT

Legal Commentary | US Dept. of Health and Human Services | This document contains amendments to the interim final regulations implementing the rules for group health plans and health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets under provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act regarding preventive health services.

Obama plays catch 22 with religious groups

2 Aug 2011 15:54:43 GMT

News Release | Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights |. . .the Obama administration is playing Catch-22 with religious employers. If they are too religious, Catholic social service agencies risk losing federal funds, but if Catholic hospitals are not sufficiently religious, they cannot be exempt from carrying health insurance policies that transgress their religious tenets.

Conscience regs are totally inadequate

2 Aug 2011 15:43:48 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | . . .to be clear, the issue is not contraception. There is no effort to force our views on contraception on the whole society, only an insistence that society’s views not be foisted on us. Many Catholics disagree with the Church’s teaching on contraception to be sure, but if the government can dictate to us on this point, it can dictate to us on any point. . .

Catholic Health Association response to women's preventive services regulations

2 Aug 2011 15:15:41 GMT

News Release | Catholic Health Association |CHA is very concerned about the inadequacy of the conscience protections with respect to the coverage of contraception. As it stands, the language is not broad enough to protect our Catholic health providers. Catholic hospitals are a significant part of this nation's health care, especially in the care of the most vulnerable. It is critical that we be allowed to serve our nation without compromising our conscience.

HHS mandate for contraceptive and abortifacient drugs violates conscience rights

1 Aug 2011 15:41:55 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sharply criticized a new HHS “preventive services” mandate requiring private health plans to cover female surgical sterilization and all drugs and devices approved by the FDA as contraceptives, including drugs which can attack a developing unborn child before and after implantation in the mother’s womb.

Senate Bill 1467: Respect for Rights of Conscience Act 2011

2 Aug 2011 22:34:10 GMT

Proposed Law | USA | Text of Respect for Rights of Conscience Act 2011

Protection of conscience bill introduced in US Senate

2 Aug 2011 16:28:50 GMT

News | US Senator Roy Blunt has introduced Senate Bill 1467, the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011." The bill is identical to a House of Representatives bill of the same name. Co-sponsors are Senators Marco Rubio and Kelly Ayotte.

US Department issues draft regulation on mandatory contraception coverage

1 Aug 2011 16:27:17 GMT

News | The US Department of Health and Human Services has issued an interim regulation that will enact the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine that contraception and sterilization must be offered in health insurance plans provided by employers, without charge to employees. The public will have 60 days to respond to the draft before it is finalized.[HHS news release]

Anti-RH bill rally in Philippines

30 Jul 2011 16:21:59 GMT

News | The Catholic diocese of Pagadian and Human Life International organized a rally against the proposed Reproductive Health Bill. About 8000 people attended the event in the city's public plaza. [CBCP News] The rally demonstrates the controversial nature of the bill and the likelihood of conflicts of conscience among health care workers if it passes in its present form.

Euthanasia-assisted suicide bill in South Australia

28 Jul 2011 16:20:07 GMT

Proposed Law | Bill No. 88, an amendment to the criminal law in South Australia, will, if passed, make it possible for physicians to provide assisted suicide and euthanasia. In comparison to other euthanasia and assisted suicide bills it is unusual, since it does not propose to legalize either procedure per se. Instead, it provides a series of defences for physicians who are charged for providing euthanasia or assisted suicide. Since the standard of proof in a criminal trial is proof beyond reasonable doubt, the defences would probably lower the likelihood of prosecution as well as conviction. From the perspective of freedom of conscience, this would not adversely affect physicians who object to the procedures, which would technically remain criminal offences. Further: the absence of any kind of approval process that would implicate the medical profession or the state would make it very unlikely that pressure would be brought to bear on objectors by colleagues or the state. Long term consequences are more difficult to predict, since a similar arrangement with respect to abortion following the Bourne case in England eventually proved to be an early step in the legalization of the procedure. Once abortion was legalized in Britain, conscientious objectors to abortion began to experience discrimination and coercion. [See Question of Conscience]

Respecting, protecting differences of conscience strengthens health care

28 Jul 2011 18:25:24 GMT

Op/Ed | Stephen Schneck | The issue facing Sebelius is not contraception. The issue is conscience protection. The right of an American citizen to receive birth control or to obtain Plan B does not trump the right of a doctor to decline to participate in procuring an abortion. Nor does it trump the right of a citizen to decline to purchase a policy that pays for procedures they find morally repugnant.

Nurses express concern about proposed withdrawal of nutrition/hydration

26 Jul 2011 16:18:50 GMT

News | A nurse supervisor responsible for the care of a minimally conscious woman whose relatives want to stop assisted nutrition and hydration has filed a statement with the Court of Protection in the United Kingdom. The nurse reports that the woman "responds to music and conversation and tries to communicate," and expresses concern that the family does not understand the practical effects of withdrawing food and fluids. The case is the first application in Britain to withdraw food and fluids from a patient who is minimally conscious rather than in a "persistent vegetative state." [Independent] The nurse's statement indicates the potential for conflicts of conscience among health care workers in such situations.

Access to Birth Control bill introduced in US Congress

26 Jul 2011 16:12:11 GMT

Proposed Law | Identical bills have been introduced in the US House of Representatives (HR2659) and US Senate (S1415) that have been described as attacks on freedom of conscience for pharmacists. The bills' recommended "congressional findings" include the clearly erroneous statement that access to contraception "is a protected fundamental right in the United States"; it is not. The "findings" also exclude reference to the potential embryocidal or abortifacient effects of some products that are marketed as contraceptives. However, the bills would not apply to any pharmacy that does not stock contraceptives, so they would have no effect on pharmacies operated by those who object to that line of product. The obligations to facilitate access to such products is imposed only on those who normally provide them. Finally, the obligation to facilitate access lies with the pharmacy, not with individual pharmacists, so the accommodation of objecting pharmacists would still be possible.

Catholic opposition to recommendation for contraceptive mandates

25 Jul 2011 16:09:13 GMT

News | The Catholic Medical Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, among others, have spoken out against the recommendations that employers should be made to provide health insurance converage for contraception and sterilization. In addition to arguments against contraception per se, they protest that it is offensive to principles of freedom of conscience and religion to compel individuals and denominational institutions to facilitate conduct that they believe to be wrong.[CMA news release] [DiNardo news release] [USCCB news release] [USCCB spokesman] [National Catholic Reporter]

Suggestions for the future of bioethics

24 Jul 2011 21:55:54 GMT

Ethical Commentary | Daniel P. Sulmasy | Where should bioethics go next? I will make six suggestions. I am sure they will not be uniformly popular, but I’d like to think they might provoke some interesting discussion.

In Wake of Proposed Contraceptive Mandate, Cardinal DiNardo Urges Congress to Support Respect for Rights of Conscience Act

22 Jul 2011 22:28:55 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | Responding to a proposal from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that private health plans be required to cover all FDA-approved contraceptives under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the U.S. bishops urged Congress to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179).

Conscience and mandates

21 Jul 2011 15:44:56 GMT

Op/Ed | Michael Sean Winters | Earlier this year, when the administration released its new conscience regulations, I made the point then, and it remains relevant to this discussion: Liberals should be ashamed of themselves when they cease to defend the rights of conscience.

Anti-RH bill rally in Philippines

21 Jul 2011 16:07:25 GMT

News | A gathering of about 4,000 Catholic students was held at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila to celebrate the anniversary of the encyclical Humanae Vitae and to oppose the controversial Reproductive Health bill currently being considered by the Philippines Congress. [GMA News] If the bill becomes law in its current form, it is likely to adversely affect health care workers who object to contraception or potentially embryocidal drugs or devices for reasons of conscience.

CMA Criticizes IOM Recommendation on Mandating Contraceptive Coverage

20 Jul 2011 22:30:27 GMT

News Release | Catholic Medical Association | The Catholic Medical Association released the following statement after the Institute of Medicine effectively recommended, on July 19, 2011, that insurance companies and plans be forced to subsidize "the full range of FDA-approved contraceptive methods"

Bishops’ Pro-Life Chair Strongly Opposes Recommended Mandate for Birth Control, Sterilization in Private Health Plans

19 Jul 2011 22:27:19 GMT

News Release | US Conference of Catholic Bishops | Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, strongly opposed the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of surgical sterilization and all FDA-approved birth control in private health insurance plans nationwide.

Institute of Medicine recommends mandatory contraception insurance coverage

19 Jul 2011 15:44:06 GMT

News | An American organization, the Institute of Medicine, has issued a report (Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps) that recommends that "the full range of Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counselling for women with reproductive capacity" be provided by insurance plans by employers without charge to their employees. The recommendation will be controversial among those who have moral objections to sterilization and contraception, and among those who are concerned that some products marketed as contraceptives may have embryodical or abortifacient effects, causing the death of an embryo before or after implantation. [Fox News]

Survey of attitudes about conscientious objection in United Kingdom

18 Jul 2011 15:40:15 GMT

News | A survey of 733 students in four medical schools in the United Kindgom (Cardiff University, King’s college London, Leeds University and St George’s University of London) has disclosed that almost half believe that physicians should be allowed to refuse to perform procedures to which they object for moral, cultural or religious reasons. For some respondents, this included treating someone who is drunk or high on drugs. A significant number of the students would not perform abortions after 24 weeks, nor because of failed contraception. This elicited the concern from various quarters about what is perceived as a growing unwillingness of physicians to provide abortions.[Sophie L.M. Strickland, Conscientious objection in medical students: a questionnaire survey. J Med Ethics doi:10.1136/jme.2011.042770] [The Guardian] [The Telegraph] The study warrants attention, because to extend grounds for objection to non-moral reasons (culture) and to what could be distaste or difficulty (drug or alcohol intoxicated patients) is not justifiable. Ultimately, such attitudes are likely to undermine public support for freedom of conscience for health care workers.

Spanish group protests changes to medical code of ethics

14 Jul 2011 15:37:16 GMT

News | The National Association for the Defense of the Right to Conscientious Objection (La Asociación Nacional Para La Defensa Del Derecho de Objeción de Consciencia) in Spain is protesting what it describes as the secretive manner in which the country's Collegial Medical Organization adopted changes to its code of ethics. According to the Association, the changes, which may adversely affect conscientious objectors to abortion, were not to be discussed until September.[

Workplace prejudice against Christians in the United Kingdom

12 Jul 2011 15:35:12 GMT

News | Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission is supporting four Christians who have brought religious discrimination cases to the European Court of Human Rights. According tothe Commission, judges in the United Kingdom have failed to interpret the law broadly enough when dealing with Christian victims of religious discrimination. The Commission is urging a policy of accommodation of relgious belief. Meanwhile, the Church of England General Synod has been told that some employers consider any manifestation of religious belief offensive, and that Christians find work environments increasingly difficult.

President Obama petitioned to restore conscience protections

6 Jul 2011 15:30:43 GMT

News | The Christian Medical Association (CMA) has sent a petition with over 61,000 signatures to President Barack Obama in support of freedom of conscience in health care. In the accompanying letter, Dr. David Stevens, CEO of the Association, noted that the Obama administration had "gutted" a federal protection of conscience regulation, but, nonetheless, asked the President to "consider the voices and values of these many Americans and (a) restore a strong conscience-protecting regulation and (b) support and sign into law strong conscience-protecting legislation."

Christian Medical Association sends over 61,000 petitions to President Obama

6 Jul 2011 22:31:48 GMT

News Release | Christian Medical Association | The Christian Medical Association (CMA, ) today sent to President Obama a letter on behalf of 61,154 individuals who signed a petition urging the President to uphold and enforce conscience rights in health care.

ECLJ to the Council of Europe: Spain violates conscientious freedom of medical practitioners

23 Jun 2011 22:25:13 GMT

Repression | Spain |The following news release describes official hostility to freedom of conscience that has developed in Spain since July, 2010, and the persecution of conscientious objectors.

Suppression of freedom of conscience in Spain

23 Jun 2011 15:30:23 GMT

News | On June 22, 2011, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) organized a public hearing at the Council of Europe, entitled “Spain: Violations of Medical Practitioner’s Freedom of Conscience”. It was conducted with the Spanish Defense Association of Conscientious Objection (ANDOC) and with the support of the European’s People’s Party. During the hearing, a detailed report of systematic violations of freedom of conscience among health care professionals was released.

Louisiana Senate removes change to protection of conscience law

14 Jun 2011 15:29:54 GMT

An expansion of an existing protection of conscience statute in Louisiana contained in House Bill 636 was removed by the Louisiana Senate. The change leaves the existing law intact.

Liberty of conscience is critical for individual doctors

13 Jun 2011 22:16:17 GMT

Ethical Commentary | Dan Wooding | "To sacrifice conscience and be concerned only with service provision is to destroy the heart and soul of medicine.”

Liberty of conscience critical for doctors

13 Jun 2011 15:27:53 GMT

News | Dr. Lachlan Dunjey, founder of Medicine with Morality, an Australian group, told a gathering of 220 Christian doctors and medical professionals meeting in Brisbane, Australia, that freedom of conscience "lies at the very heart of our integrity” and compels doctors "to refuse to participate in treatments they believe to be un-ethical."

Emergency plan overturned

6 Jun 2011 18:27:03 GMT

Legal Commentary | Cristina Alarcon | Clearly, the state’s concept of “emergency” was fabricated in order to justify the imposition of a moral ideology on unwilling citizens.

Pope Benedict XVI: conscience critical to European survival

4 Jun 2011 15:26:23 GMT

News | Speaking to civic, business, and cultural representatives, members of the diplomatic corps and religious leaders in Zagreb, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the theme of conscience. He described the theme as one that "cuts across all the different fields in which you are engaged and it is fundamental for a free and just society, both at national and supranational levels."

Group identifies threat to freedom of conscience in Philippines RH bill

18 May 2011 15:23:02 GMT

News | World Youth Alliance's Asia Pacific office in Manila has posted a new website about the controversial Philippines Reproductive Health bill. Christopher White, international director of operations of WYA, has criticized the RH bill because, among other things, it lacks provisions for freedom of conscience and religious practice. On this point he suggests that the bill's critics should "highlight freedom of conscience as an international human right which is universally recognized."

European rights advocates support mob wrecking Berlin pharmacy

17 May 2011 19:57:29 GMT

News | . . . Dr. Gudrun Kugler, a lawyer from Vienna, Austria, describes her presentation of a report to the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency. . . Next, I mention the case of a Berlin pharmacist who refuses to sell the morning after pill. Radical feminists smashed his windows and wrecked the pharmacy. “Rightly so,”says another participant of FRA’s Fundamental Rights Platform. “He violated the right of access to medical care!” Heavy nodding from the audience. . .

Philippines president warns civil disobedience could lead to sedition charges

16 May 2011 11:33:44 GMT

News | Responding to statements from Catholic bishops in the Philippines to the effect that passage of the "RH" bill could result in civil disobedience, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has said that civil disobedience would be a "serious offence," referring specifically to sedition. . . .A Philippines journalist following the story comments that "reproductive health has become the single biggest issue confronting the nation today and could be the tipping point for both P-Noy and the country as a whole." . . .the failure of the bill to adequately address the issue of freedom of conscience for health care workers is particularly troubling. . .

Louisiana House Bill 636

12 May 2011 22:18:07 GMT

Proposed Law | Louisiana, USA | Protection of cosncience provision in LouisianaHB 636

Bishops consider civil disobedience in the Philippines

12 May 2011 20:12:36 GMT

News | Deogracias Iñiguez Jr., Catholic Bishop of Caloocan, Phiilippines, has warned that if the proposed reproductive health bill becomes law, Catholics will not be obliged to adhere to provisions that are contrary to their faith. Meanwhle, Archbishop Ramon Arguelles has said that dialogue with the president is "useless" and "we're going to have a total war now" against the bill. . .

Swedish Parliamentary Debate: Freedom of conscience in health care

11 May 2011 22:14:13 GMT

Society/Politics | Re: Resolution 1763(2010) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe | On 11 May, 2011 the Swedish Parliament debated the recommendations in a report from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Some of these concerned Resolution 1763(2010) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which affirmed support for freedom of conscience for health care workers.

Swedish Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2010/11:UU12

11 May 2011 22:02:05 GMT

Society/Politics | Swedish Parliamentary Debate: Freedom of conscience in health care | Relevant background documents |This report from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Swedish Parliament became the subject of a parliamentary debate in May, 2011. That part of the report relevant to PACE Resolution 1763 (2010), supporting freedom of conscience for health care workers, is reproduced here.

Presentation to Parliament 2010/11:ER1 From Sweden's delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

11 May 2011 22:09:13 GMT

Society/Politics | Swedish Parliamentary Debate:
Freedom of conscience in health care | Relevant background documents | The following is extracted from a lengthy report to the Swedish parliament from Sweden's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The extract below is from a list of resolutions approved by the assembly. It refers to PACE Resolution1763 of October, 2010, affirming support for freedom of conscience of health care workers.

Government Communication 2010/11: 54 Presentation of the activities of the Committee of Ministers, etc.

11 May 2011 22:11:52 GMT

Society/Politics | Swedish Parliamentary Debate: Freedom of conscience in health care | Relevant background documents | As indicated by the following table of contents, this report to the Swedish parliament covers the activities of the Committee of Ministers at the European Union during 2009 and the first half of 2010. PACE Resolution 1763 supporting freedom of conscience for health care workers is not mentioned because it was not adopted until the fall of 2010, subsequent to the period covered by this report.

Motion 2010/11:U298 The Millenium Development Goals

11 May 2011 22:06:39 GMT

Society/Politics | Swedish Parliamentary Debate: Freedom of conscience in health care | Relevant background documents | Sweden's Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) was horrified when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe affirmed its support for freedom of conscience for health care workers by passing Resolution1763 in October, 2010. In response, the Party proposed the following motion to the Swedish parliament. Among other things, it asserted that Sweden should "actively work to repeal the resolution."

HHS Responds to Pro-life Letter, Defends Conscience Recission

11 May 2011 11:10:49 GMT

News release | Medical Students for Life of America |The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has officially responded to pro-life concerns over the recent conscience rescissions for medical students and medical professionals. . .

Commentary re: Regulation 45 CFR Part 88 (2011)

10 May 2011 23:44:28 GMT

Legal CommentaryThis regulation, issued in December, 2008 by the Bush Administration, was revised by the Obama Administration and re-issued in February, 2011. . .

Ms. Magazine: freedom of conscience leading to rampant substandard care in US

10 May 2011 23:35:10 GMT

Op/Ed | The spring issue of Ms. Magazine includes an article asserts that "substandard care [is] becoming rampant in the US" because of protection of conscience laws, and that Catholic bishops in the United States "are prohibiting doctors from practicing medicine and denying women essential reproductive care." . . .

Protection of conscience bill tracking now available in USA

6 May 2011 23:33:40 GMT

News | The Freedom2Care coalition web site now offers a Legislative Action Center that utilizes Capwiz to make it easy for users to learn about and track bills, contact their legislators and more. . .

Philippines bishops withdraw from talks with president

5 May 2011 23:31:25 GMT

News | The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has withdrawn from talks with President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on the subject of the controversial "RH bill" that is opposed by the Catholic Church. . .

HR3 No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act

5 May 2011 00:58:09 GMT

Proposed law | This bill was introduced on 20 January, 2011 and passed by the US House of Representatives on 4 May, 2011. This extract from the full text of the bill is the protection of conscience provision. . .

Amendment proposed to Louisiana protection of conscience law

4 May 2011 23:29:05 GMT

News | An amendment to an existing protection of conscience law in Louisiana has been included in a proposed bill concerning abortion. The amendment would broaden the scope of existing protection . .

US House of Representatives passes bill that includes conscience protections

4 May 2011 23:27:31 GMT

News | The US House of Representatives today passed a the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which includes a number of protection of conscience provisions. The passage of the bill was applauded by the Alliance of Catholic Health Care. . .

Freedom of Conscience and Good Medical Practice: The AMA's position.

2 May 2011 00:49:55 GMT

Legal Commentary | Francis Sullivan | *Video* from Conscience Laws and Healthcare Conference, 25th July 2009. The event was organised by the group- Doctors in Conscience in order to examine the implications The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 will have on the practice of healthcare for conscience objectors.

The Victorian Abortion Law and the threat to religious affiliated healthcare.

2 May 2011 00:49:51 GMT

Legal Commentary | Martin Laverty | *Video* from Conscience Laws and Healthcare Conference, 25th July 2009. The event was organised by the group- Doctors in Conscience in order to examine the implications The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 will have on the practice of healthcare for conscience objectors.

The Victorian Abortion Law and the negative impact on professionalism for Victorian nurses.

2 May 2011 00:49:39 GMT

Legal Commentary | Jo Grainger | *Video* from Conscience Laws and Healthcare Conference, 25th July 2009. The event was organised by the group- Doctors in Conscience in order to examine the implications The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 will have on the practice of healthcare for conscience objectors.

The Victorian Abortion Law and Conscientious Healthworkers: Is there a way out or do we need a test case?

2 May 2011 00:49:45 GMT

Legal Commentary | Nigel Preston | *Video* from Conscience Laws and Healthcare Conference, 25th July 2009. The event was organised by the group- Doctors in Conscience in order to examine the implications The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 will have on the practice of healthcare for conscience objectors.

The Coercion of Doctors: What is happening to modern medicine?

2 May 2011 00:52:34 GMT

Legal Commentary | Dr Lachlan Dunjey | *Video* from Conscience Laws and Healthcare Conference, 25th July 2009. The event was organised by the group- Doctors in Conscience in order to examine the implications The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 will have on the practice of healthcare for conscience objectors.

The Coercion of Conscience: A Federal Political Response.

2 May 2011 00:46:24 GMT

Legal Commentary | Julian McGauran *Video* from Conscience Laws and Healthcare Conference, 25th July 2009. The event was organised by the group- Doctors in Conscience in order to examine the implications The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 will have on the practice of healthcare for conscience objectors.

The courage to refuse to cooperate in evil

30 Apr 2011 15:57:05 GMT

Ethical Commentary | Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk | Great care, discretion, and courage are required as we seek to avoid cooperation in medical situations where immoral practices may not only be tolerated, but even at times almost imposed on us.

BC Civil Liberties Association asserts right to physician assisted suicide

26 Apr 2011 23:25:46 GMT

News | A statement of claim filed by the BC Civil Liberties Association and others in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada, has launched a court case to legalize physician assisted suicide in Canada. Of particular concern is the claim that patients have a right to the assistance of health care workers in committing suicide, . .

Protection of conscience bill proposed in Alabama

18 Apr 2011 23:24:20 GMT

News | Senate Bill 46, sponsored by Senator Cam Ward, offers protection to health care workers, institutions, and those paying for health care. . .

Alabama Senate Bill 14: Health Care Rights of Conscience Act

19 Apr 2011 00:37:50 GMT

Proposed law | Text of Alabama Senate Bill 14: Health Care Rights of Conscience Act

Western Defense of Conscience: Interview With Law Professor Rafael Navarro-Valls

17 Apr 2011 00:34:24 GMT

Legal Commentary | Zenit Interview | The right to conscientious objection -- in areas ranging from health care to education -- is one of the most important legal battles being fought in the West, according to a law professor and author on the subject. . . On this question, Spanish jurist Rafael Navarro Valls, a law professor and regular contributor to ZENIT’s Spanish-language edition, has recently published a book, together with Javier Martínez Torrón, titled "Conflictos entre conciencia y ley. Las objeciones de conciencia" (Conflicts between Conscience and Law: Conscientious Objections). ZENIT spoke with the author about the nature and limits of conscientious objection. . .

Spanish physician a 'public servant,' denied freedom of conscience

15 Apr 2011 23:22:27 GMT

News | A court in Malaga, Spain, has ruled that a physician in a public medical facility in Antequerea, Spain, is a public employee, and thus his "duty to provide adequate health care" prevails over his conscientious objection to abortion.

The new conscience regulation: gutting protections, laying landmines

15 Apr 2011 00:17:45 GMT

Legal Commentary | Christian Medical Association | Commentary re: Regulation 45 CFR Part 88 (2011) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. . .

Denying people right to conscience akin to fascism

14 Apr 2011 00:12:08 GMT

Legal Commentary | Greg Craven | How can civil libertarians deny others a right they fight for? . . . This centrality of conscience in rights discourse hardly is surprising. Of all the rich and varied freedoms, the freedom to think and believe is fundamental. Without it people not only have fewer human rights, they are less human. . . .

Arkansas House Bill 1983

14 Apr 2011 00:03:45 GMT

Proposed law |Text of the Healthcare Freedom of Conscience Act

The Philippines RH bill of 2011: the shape of things to come?

12 Apr 2011 23:54:24 GMT

Legal Commentary | Sean Murphy | The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011. ". . . The bill . . . includes some provisions that are not specific to health care workers and institutions. However, they affect fundamental freedoms of all citizens, and they are indicative of the broader social, legal and political environment within which the law will operate if the bill passes. . . ."

The "RH Bill" (2011) in brief

12 Apr 2011 23:59:33 GMT

Proposed law | The following sections of the Philippines consolidated "RH Bill" of 2011 are of particular interest to freedom of conscience issues. . .

South Carolina House Bill 3408: Freedom of Conscience Act

11 Apr 2011 23:51:38 GMT

Proposed law | Text of the Freedom of Conscience Act . . .

HR1179 Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011

11 Apr 2011 23:49:04 GMT

Proposed law | To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to protect rights of conscience with regard to requirements for coverage of specific items and services. . .

Victory for Relgious Freedom Six Years in the Making

7 Apr 2011 00:20:47 GMT

News relase | American Center for Law and Justice | The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) this week secured a sweeping victory for pro-life pharmacy owners in Illinois after a legal battle lasting six years. A state court in Illinois this week issued a decision striking down a state law that compels pharmacy owners to dispense Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception, even if doing so violates their religious or moral beliefs.

Alaska Senate Bill 14

6 Apr 2011 23:47:04 GMT

Proposed law | An Act providing for the protection and reasonable accommodation of a health care provider's expression of conscience pertaining to a health care service; and providing for immunity, an exception, and prohibition of discrimination for an expression of conscience by a health care provider. . . .

Illinois ruling supports freedom of conscience for pharmacists

6 Apr 2011 23:20:29 GMT

News | A judge of the Circuit Court sitting in Springfield, Illinois, has ruled that an "emergency" state regulation enacted by the Governor Rod Blagojevich six years ago was intended to prevent pharmacists from acting on their religious convictions. Thus, he held, the regulation violated the state's Health Care Right of Conscience Act, the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the Free Exercise of Religion Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. . .

US Dept. of Health and Human Services misrepresents federal conscience laws

31 Mar 2011 19:32:51 GMT

News | The US Department of Health and Human Services . . . is . . . supposed to undertake public education and outreach on freedom of conscience in health care. However, its website misrepresents the Church Amendments,. . . The Department appears to have overlooked other relevant federal statutes, some of which refer to procedures other than abortion . . .

American activist group and UNFPA attack freedom of conscience

31 Mar 2011 19:31:46 GMT

News |The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), an American activist organization with multi-national connections, has joined the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in attacking freedom of conscience among health care workers who object to contracption for moral or ethical reasons. . .

Obama Administration Rejects Conscience Protections

31 Mar 2011 00:43:52 GMT

Op/Ed | William Saunders & Anna Franzonello | An issue of paramount importance for medical professionals is the protection of their right to conscience—their freedom to refuse or decline to do practices they oppose on religious or moral grounds. A February decision by the Obama administration, however, sweeps aside conscience protections instituted under President Bush. . .

Freedom of Conscience Act passes South Carolina lower house

30 Mar 2011 19:30:06 GMT

News | The House of Representatives in South Carolina has passed HB3408, the Freedom of Conscience Act. The bill provides protection for employees, health care institutions, health care providers, insurers and students . . .

Anglican bishop warns against threat to freedom of conscience

25 Mar 2011 19:28:35 GMT

News | Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, former Anglican Bishop of Rochester, England, has warned that aggressive secularism is leading to an “encroaching totalitarianism” that has become a threat to freedom of conscience.

Utah has new protection of conscience law

23 Mar 2011 19:22:40 GMT

News | The Governor of Utah has signed House Bill 353, the Abortion Freedom of Conscience Act.

Secularism and freedom of conscience and religion

23 Mar 2011 19:20:56 GMT

News | . . . the European Court of Human Rights reversed a lower court decision and affirmed that crucifixes may be displayed in public school classrooms in Italy. . . . concurring judgements filed by Judges Bonello and Power directly addressed the relationship between secularism and freedom of conscience and religion. . .

Protection of conscience bill introduced in US House of Representatives

17 Mar 2011 19:19:38 GMT

News | HR1179, Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011, has been introduced in the US House of Representatives. . .

Letter to Secretary Sebelius from Medical Students for Life et al

16 Mar 2011 21:58:44 GMT

Submission | Medical Students for Life of America |We write to you today as medical students and medical professionals concerned by your Department’s February announcement that it is rescinding of most of the Bush Administration’s conscience protections. As future medical professionals, we feel that your decision must be reconsidered for the future of the medical profession.

Medical students and professionals protest weakening conscience protection

16 Mar 2011 19:18:37 GMT

News | American Medical Students for Life, Students for Life, representatives of the Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists have written a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, to protest the weakening of a protection of conscience regulation. . .

Clarifying the clarification: College of Physicians & Surgeons of Saskatchewan linkeline on Unplanned Pregnancy

13 Mar 2011 19:35:45 GMT

Background | Sean Murphy | Reports in the Toronto Sun and Edmonton Sun in February, 2011, stated that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan would henceforth require physicians who refuse to perform abortion to refer patients to other physicians to obtain the procedure.1 These reports were false. . .

The Progressive Case for Conscience Protection

9 Mar 2011 01:05:48 GMT

Legal Commentary | Robert K. Vischer | . . . “Conscience” is not a code word for abortion restrictions, and the liberty of conscience is too important to let it become the exclusive property of conservatives. Conscience is not the only value that matters in our health care debates, but there is a disturbing trend among progressives of acting as though it does not matter at all. . .

American Civil Liberties Union opposes freedom of conscience

7 Mar 2011 19:17:30 GMT

News | The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed opposition to Alaskan Senate Bill 14, which would ensure respect for freedom of conscience of heatlh care employees who have notified employers of their objections to services or procedures. . .

Hostility to religious freedom evident in Europe

7 Mar 2011 19:08:25 GMT

News | Speaking in Malta, Professor Roger Trigg, Academic Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Kellogg College, Oxford, and an Advisor to the Protection of Conscience Project, addressed the theme “Free to Believe? A Religious Conscience in a Secular Society.” . . . Professor Trigg noted that religious viewpoints are frequently not respected or even accommodated, citing the threat by the Irish government to criminally prosecute marriage registrars unwiling to register 'marriages' by same-sex couples. . . .

The costs of taking conscience

2 Mar 2011 19:53:48 GMT

Ethicaly Commentary | Michael A. Fragoso | There is already a growing physician shortage . . . The shortage will increase without any of the supply reductions that are likely to occur as a result of decertifying practicing obstetricians who refuse to perform abortions and deterring future obstetricians who will choose a different career or specialty rather than violate their consciences.

Roe to the rescue? Roe v. Wade could prove an unlikely source of pro-life conscience protection

2 Mar 2011 01:00:54 GMT

Legal Commentary | Mark Rienzi | . . .a close examination of the Court’s stated test yields a surprising result: the right to refuse to perform an abortion actually has better historical support, and better satisfies the Court’s stated tests, than the abortion right itself. . .

Freedom of conscience suppressed for Irish pharmacists

26 Feb 2011 19:06:27 GMT

News | The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) demands that pharmacists must dispense the morning-after pill or refer patients for the medication even if they object to doing so because of concerns that the drug may have an embryocidal effect.

Repelling the attack on concience

24 Feb 2011 00:14:41 GMT

Legal Commentary | Helen Alvaré | A new bill is needed to fix the healthcare law’s failure to adequately safeguard conscience. There is no need to view the matter of conscience protection in health care as a zero-sum game between conscience-driven healthcare providers and the patients they serve, particularly the most vulnerable. . .

Commentary by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

23 Feb 2011 23:38:26 GMT

Legal CommentaryThe Department of Health and Human Services issues this final rule which provides that enforcement of the federal statutory health care provider conscience protections will be handled by the Department's Office for Civil Rights, in conjunction with the Department's funding components. . .

Regulation 45 CFR Part 88

23 Feb 2011 23:41:05 GMT

US Federal Regulation U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Regulation for the Enforcement of Federal Health Care Provider Conscience Protection Laws.

Controversial Philippines reproductive health bills consolidated

22 Feb 2011 19:04:12 GMT

News | Six different reproductive health (RH) bills, all controversial, have been combined in the Philippines House of Representatives to produce House Bill 4244, “The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2011." The single bill, which includes a number of passages that are problematic from the perspective of freedom of conscience, will now be considered by the House.

Controversy continues in Idaho over protection of conscience law

21 Feb 2011 19:01:57 GMT

News | Three bills have been proposed to amend Idaho's Freedom of Conscience for Health Care Professionals Act. The bills are driven by concerns that the Act would permit health care workers to refuse to abide by advance directives. . .

CMA Physicians, former HHS Asst. Secretary decry Obama administration's regulatory action on conscience and discrimination

19 Feb 2011 00:06:26 GMT

News Release | Christian Medical Association |The 16,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org) today protested the decision of the Obama administration to weaken the only federal regulation protecting the exercise of conscience in health care. . .

German Medical association proposes change to approach to assisted suicide

18 Feb 2011 19:00:53 GMT

News | The German Medical Association, which hitherto has considered physician involvement in suicide a violation of medical ethics, has proposed new linkelines that state that participation in assisted suicide is not a medical duty. This continues to afford protection to physicians who object to assisted suicide. The approach is being interpreted as a method of providing greater freedom of conscience within the profession.

Obama administration replaces conscience regulation

18 Feb 2011 18:58:44 GMT

News | The Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new regulation to replace one enacted by the Bush administration to ensure protection of conscience in health care. The regulation will come into force in 30 days. The Department received over 300,000 comments on its proposal to revoke the Bush regulation, 187,000 of which (62%) were opposed to revocation. . .

Conscience protection at risk

18 Feb 2011 00:40:54 GMT

Op/Ed | William Saunders | In October, at a central European meeting with pro-life colleagues, I learned that in a few days there was going to be a vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concerning rights of conscience. The vote was on the “McCafferty Report,” which strongly recommended significant restrictions on rights of conscience. . .

Members of Congress write in defence of freedom of consscience

16 Feb 2011 18:57:05 GMT

News | 46 members of the US House of Representatives have written a letter to the Health and Human Services Secretary to defend protection of conscience regulations for health care workers. . .

Opponent of freedom of conscience would impose eugenic obligation

13 Feb 2011 18:22:17 GMT

News | Julian Salvulescu, a professor of ethics at Oxford University who is opposed to freedom of conscience for health care workers [BMJ, 2006], argues that society has a moral obligation to use in vitro fertilization and screen embryos to ensure that they will have a high IQ (Sunday Herald Sun). Presumably he would insist that health care workers be compelled to facilitate the process if it were adopted.

The Freedom of Conscience Rights

5 Feb 2011 00:09:10 GMT

Ethical Commentary | Archbishop J. Michael Miller | In a world held thrall to what the Holy Father has called the "dictatorship of relativism," Catholic health-care workers must be free to live Christ's message in their professional lives: to be witnesses to the One who is "the way, and the truth, and the life." Without such freedom, we cannot pursue our personal or collective mission to ensure the presence of Jesus' healing ministry in our world.