Proposed HHS Regulation Threatens Health-Care Access, Says NCJW
August 26, 2008, Washington, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) today denounced a regulation proposed by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would require as many as 584,000 providers of health care to certify that they allow their employees to refuse to participate in providing any health services, referral, or even information that violates their moral or religious beliefs. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan released the following statement:
"Through the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Bush administration has proposed a new regulation that purports to implement three federal laws giving health providers the right to refuse to perform, aid in, or learn about abortions or sterilization procedures. But the regulation would not end there. Health-care employers would be required to certify that they 'will not require involvement in procedures that violate an individual's conscience as part of any' health service program.
"As an organization inspired by Jewish values, NCJW is keenly aware of the need to protect freedom of religion and belief. However, the administration's proposed regulation is not about protecting religious freedom. Rather, it is a subterfuge which uses the guise of religious freedom to create unreasonable barriers for women to access reproductive health-care. The proposed regulation is another assault by the administration on women's rights.
"The insidious reach of the proposed regulation is not limited to health care providers or reproductive services -- it expands the reach of the law to any service and to any employee remotely involved in providing service, from receptionists to technicians to, perhaps, cleaning crews.
"During the comment period, health care providers, the civil rights community, and grassroots activists need to expose this latest tactic to impose one extreme religious view about reproductive rights on us all. We cannot allow public health policy to, once again, be contorted to meet an ideological agenda."
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.
Contact:
Emily Alfano
202 296 2588 x5; emily@ncjwdc.org