President Joe Biden’s recent actions have been deemed as detrimental to the pro-life perspective, further reinforcing his reputation as the most anti-life president in US history. His Health and Human Services department’s (HHS) intends to amend a rule partially rescinding federal conscience protections. This change could compel medical practitioners to perform procedures contradicting their beliefs.
The HHS is responsible for safeguarding conscience protections, including the Coats-Snowe and Church Amendments, under federal laws. Under the Trump administration, the enforcement of these provisions was significantly fortified. However, Biden’s recent changes indicate an intention to repeal the improvements and dilute safeguards for healthcare establishments and personnel who face ethical disagreements regarding specific procedures.
Medical practitioners are increasingly confronted with dilemmas related to their sincerely held beliefs, often facing demands to either participate in questionable healthcare services or exit the profession. This issue underlines the urgent need for states to fortify state-level conscience safeguards, protecting healthcare professionals from forced involvement in ethically conflicting procedures.
Healthcare professionals should have the right to conscientiously object to certain procedures, training, or medical decisions and should not be confined to machine-like roles devoid of ethical decision-making. State legislature is essential to pass laws preserving the protections of healthcare workers at the state level, insulating them from the imposition of federal anti-life rule changes that force them to contravene their moral convictions.