Former president of the United States, Donald Trump. An overwhelming majority of Americans (83%) said they support conscience protection rights for health care professionals because they should not be forced to perform procedures against their moral beliefs.
91% of faith-based health care professionals said they need conscience protections and would rather stop practicing medicine altogether than be forced to violate their conscience.
These responses came in two polls conducted in July and were released last week along with several other findings by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees on pro-life activities, religious liberty, domestic policy and social development, and their subcommittee on promotion/defence of marriage and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the largest faith-based organisation for health care professionals.
Regulations
Greg Schleppenbach, associate director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, said the impetus for conducting these polls was the recent action by the Trump administration to put new regulations forward to enforce about 25 existing conscience protection laws.
“(This) has put the whole issue of conscience protection into the news,” he noted.
In May, President Donald Trump announced a conscience protection rule that says medical workers or institutions would not have to provide, participate in or pay for procedures they object to on moral or religious grounds, such as abortion and sterilization.
It was to have taken effect July 22, but enforcement was postponed because it is being challenged in court.