The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has insisted that a conscience protection Bill currently before Congress is vital in protecting medical professionals from being compelled to carry out abortions.
In a letter to lawmakers, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop William Lori, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Freedom, said that Catholic physicians and other religious medics are “especially at risk” from policies on abortion which take no account of conscientious objection, adding, that “while existing federal laws already protect conscientious objection to abortion in theory, this protection has not proved effective in practice”.
For this reason, the prelates write, the proposed Conscience Protection Act of 2017 “will address the deficiencies that block effective enforcement of existing laws, most notably by establishing a private right of action allowing victims of discrimination to defend their own rights in court”.
The Conscience Protection Bill has been tabled in Congress by Republican Senators James Lankford, Diane Black and Jeff Fortenberry. Senator Lankford has said the Bill, “is needed to give health care providers the right to provide medical care without violating their deeply held beliefs. Americans have very different views about abortion”.