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Please Submit Your Comment Online to Preserve Conscientious Healthcare by April 9

3.27.09—Heartbeat International has joined www.Freedom2Care.org, a website and online coalition where Americans can speak up for conscientious healthcare and a return to the Hippocratic tradition of “first do no harm.”

The Freedom2Care Coalition is a movement of organizations and individuals who recognize the value of preserving historic American civil rights and freedoms in healthcare. “If doctors and nurses with strong moral convictions who are dedicated to preserving life are purged from clinics and hospitals, then we, as patients, will lose access to compassionate caring healthcare professionals,” said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn. “Please encourage everyone you know to take a few minutes to preserve conscientious healthcare in America.”

Please sign up and encourage others to do the same. You have a vitally important opportunity to immediately send a message to prevent a critical loss of access to healthcare professionals who are being systematically pressured to violate ethical standards.

Here’s what’s been happening:

1. In August 2008, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) took long-overdue action to address a growing crisis of abortion-related discrimination that could force thousands of conscientious healthcare professionals out of medicine. After several months of public comment on its proposed regulation, in December 2008 HHS finalized a regulation that made clear the protections offered by three civil rights laws passed by Congress with bipartisan support.
2. The civil rights laws declare that American tax dollars will not fund programs in which healthcare professionals are fired, penalized or otherwise subjected to discrimination because of their ethical stance related to abortion and other morally controversial issues.
3. However, in March 2009, following protests from abortion special interest groups, the new administration officially declared plans to rescind—get rid of—the conscience-protecting regulation. The administration has, as required by law, called for public comment on the proposed plan to get rid of the conscience-protecting regulation, with a deadline of April 9, 2009.

The Freedom2Care Coalition is an ad hoc coalition formed to defend the conscience rights of health care professionals and students. What joins us together is the urgent need to defend the Conscience Regulation implemented on December 19, 2008.

The Freedom2Care Coalition aims to immediately protect the new federal HHS "provider conscience" regulation, and to continue to educate and persuade the public, policy makers and the medical community regarding conscience rights. The Freedom2Care Coalition mission is to protect and advance the free exercise of conscience rights in health care, thereby protecting patients and upholding American ideals and law.