Introducing a resource on provider “conscience” issues in reproductive health care
Earlier this month, Lori Freedman wrote about reactions to the initial version of the HHS rule, which would have mandated contraceptive coverage for the majority of employer-based health insurance plans. As she mentioned, the U.S. bishops were outraged by the possible effects the rule would have on Catholic-affiliated institutions. Women’s health advocates, however, cheered the decision as an example of policy based on science rather than politics.
Late last week, the Obama administration announced a change that would allow religiously affiliated institutions to opt out from providing contraceptive coverage, instead requiring their insurance companies to reach out to do so by contacting employees individually. Again, after initial hesitation, the bishops declared themselves outraged and women’s health advocates cheered. The final rule is expected in August 2012. No matter the language or compromises made between now and then, this debate is far from over.
Yet, despite the recent flurry of discussion at dinner tables and in blogs, this topic is not new. In fact, people have been talking about issues of conscience, more specifically conscience in reproductive health care, for decades. In 2008, there was the Bush administration’s “midnight regulation.” Prior to that, the Church (1973), Hyde (1976), Danforth (1988), Coats (1996) and Weldon (2004) amendments all placed varying prohibitions on discrimination based on a reluctance or willingness to participate in abortion provision, training or counseling. Also during this time, more than 28 states enacted conscience-clause provisions, and numerous legal, social science and bioethical scholars commented on the debate.
We at ANSIRH are among those voices and would like to take this opportunity to share, not only the research we’ve produced, but also that which we’ve utilized and referenced in pursuit of a better understanding of the issues that surround bioethics in reproductive health care. This online resource organizes some of the writing on “conscience” issues in a way that we hope will be useful to people interested in learning more about this issue. Questions regarding where the compromise should lie between institutional standards, clinician conscience and patient rights are ongoing, but we hope that researchers, advocates and individuals alike will avail themselves of this resource as a starting point to finding answers.
Photo ©iStockphoto.com/zennie
