Senate Rejects Amendment Protecting Abortion-Conscience Rights for Doctors
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com EditorApril 3, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Senate on Thursday night rejected an amendment from a pro-life senator that would have provided conscience protection on abortion for doctors and medical centers. The amendment comes at a time when President Barack Obama is considering overturning further protections.
Sen Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, sponsored an amendment to the Senate budget bill that would protect the right of conscience for health care workers.
His budget amendment was to "protect the freedom of conscience for patients and the right of health care providers to serve patients without violating their moral and religious convictions."
However, the Senate rejected the conscience amendment on a 56-41 vote with most of the chambers Democrats voting against it along with a handful of pro-abortion Republicans.
Three Democrats joined most of the Senate Republicans in voting for the Coburn amendment.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life women's group, told LifeNews.com before the vote that the amendment was worthy of support.
"This amendment is crucial in our fight to protect doctors and nurses around the country from being discriminated against for refusing to participate in abortions and other medical procedures that violate their conscience," she said.
The amendment comes at a time when Obama is considering rescinding the Provider Conscience Clause that further protects the rights of health workers.
President Bush put the provision into place to provide more enforcement for the three federal laws that make it so medical professionals and facilities are not required to do abortions.
However, President Obama has proposed overturning those conscience protections and will likely do so after a 30-day public comment window expires on April 9.
Despite federal laws protecting health care workers from having to participate in abortions, Dannenfelser says she knows of examples of that happening.
"Sadly we have already seen cases of discrimination. For example in 2008 a nurse was forced to leave two different hospitals because she refused to sign a form pledging to assist in abortions," she said.
ACR Comment:
The three RINO Senators are Arlen Spector of Penn, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Susan Collins of Maine
. The three Democrats with the courage to buck their party and vote their conscience are Ben Nelson of Neb, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Bob Casey of Penn.
Abortion is the one issue that can't be compromised, it's about life and death. Science proves that the unborn is a live human being and that an abortion kills that human being, which God says is wrong. Only cheap politicians who are unfit for office would vote to reject a medical professional's right of conscience, not to kill, therefore, Spector, Snowe, and Collins are unfit to be members of the United States Senate.
Bob Haran,
American Conservative Republican
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