Friday, February 27, 2009

Conscience Clause to End

Obama's administration taking the first steps for, well, common sense. Thank god we're done talking about the stimulus and we can talk about things that matter -- you know, abortion and religion. No pitfalls there.

From the Washington Post:
The Obama administration has begun the process of rescinding sweeping new federal protections that were granted in December to health care workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal, moral or religious beliefs.

The Office of Management and Budget announced this morning that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial "conscience" regulation, the first step toward reversing the policy. Once the OMB has reviewed the proposal it will published in Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period.

"We are proposing rescinding the Bush rule," said an official of the Health and Human Services Department, which drafted the rule change.

The administration took the step because the regulation was so broadly written that it could provide protections not only to health care workers who object to abortion but also to a wide range of health care services, said the HHS official, who asked not to be named because the process had just begun.

"We've been concerned that the way the Bush rule is written it could make it harder for women to get the care they need. It is so worded so vaguely written that some have argued it could limit family planning counseling and even potentially blood transfusions and end-of-life care," the official said.
We are taught, in nursing school, that our personal feelings don't matter, that it's the patient that matters... that we serve the sick regardless and provide compassionate care for all of our patients.

When it comes to abortion, to cite Cider House Rules, we should deliver the mother or deliver the child.

Apparently, the docs who have adviced our former President forgot about determinism and free will, or, rather, twisted it so much to forget that they don't matter when it comes to caring for other people.

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