Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2009 / 12:34 pm
Cardinal Francis George has issued a video message asking Catholics to tell the Obama Administration to retain a conscience protection rule for pro-life health care workers. Its preservation is vital to keep the government from “moving our country from democracy to despotism,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation, implemented in the final months of the George W. Bush presidency, made explicit the existing legal protections for medical workers and institutions who object to cooperating in abortions.
On Feb. 27, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that it was reviewing a proposal to lift or modify the HHS rule.
Cardinal George, who is Archbishop of Chicago and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), addressed the proposed change in a two and a half-minute video. Giving an overview of the issue, he said the rule is “one part of the range of legal protections" for health care workers who object to being involved in “abortion and other killing procedures” that contradict their faith.