Stop the Health Care Denial Rule!

So much has changed in six months.

In August, 2008, then-President Bush proposed regulations that would expand the ability of providers to refuse to provide basic health care due to their religious or moral beliefs. In September, more than 500 NYCLU supporters and hundreds of thousands of people across the country sent comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opposing these regulations. The regulations went into effect on Jan. 19, 2009 -- the day before Barack Obama was inaugurated.

Now President Obama has announced his proposal to rescind the regulations. Our dissent was loud and passionate this fall. Let’s be just as loud and passionate in our support of the Obama administration’s move to dismantle Bush’s parting shot to women.

Submit your comments!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: I support the Rescission Proposal

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing in support of the Rescission Proposal.

For years, state and federal law have carefully balanced protections for individual religious liberty and patients' access to reproductive health care. The new regulation appears to take patients' health needs out of the equation. I urge you to restore this important balance and protect access to basic care for the millions of Americans who depend on federally funded health care services by rescinding the Health Care Denial Rule. At a time when more and more Americans are either uninsured or struggling with the soaring costs of health care, the federal government should be expanding access to important health services, not undermining existing protections or interfering in programs that have successfully provided services for years. Rescinding these harmful regulations will help make good on your promises to base health care policy on science, rather than ideology, and to expand access to health care for all Americans.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
March 12, 2009

Background Information

On his last full day as president, Bush put regulations into effect that could drastically expand the ability of health care providers to refuse to provide health care that does not fit with their religious or moral beliefs. For years, state and federal law have carefully balanced protections for individual religious liberty and patients’ access to reproductive health care. The new regulation appears to take patients’ health needs out of the equation.

The regulations don’t just apply to abortion or birth control, but also potentially reduce access to basic health care for all New Yorkers. Here’s how:

Interference with state law:

Ø The regulation could weaken New York laws designed to guarantee patients’ access to care, including:

o Laws requiring hospitals and health care providers to treat patients in emergencies

o The law requiring provision of emergency contraception to women in the emergency room

o The contraceptive equity law, which requires employers that provide prescription drug coverage to cover contraception.

Prevention and care for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections:

Ø The regulations could allow medical professionals to refuse to discuss safer sex and HIV/STI prevention with at-risk patients because of objections to contraception or the patients’ sexual activities or partners.

End-of-life decisions:

Ø The regulations could reduce patients’ ability to make end-of-life decisions with dignity when facing terminal illness.

Impact on low income individuals:

Ø The regulations target the most vulnerable Americans—low-income women, young women, and immigrant women who rely on publicly funded clinics. Without the contraceptive services provided at publicly funded clinics, there would be 46 percent more unintended pregnancies (1.4 million more) annually in the United States.

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and marital status:

Ø The regulations could allow doctors to refuse to provide reproductive technology assistance and fertility care for same-sex couples, unmarried couples, or single individuals seeking to have children.