Hi Steve –
Religious liberty is not a license to discriminate and harm. Yet Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services wants to let health care providers use their religious beliefs to justify turning away patients in need. This is a betrayal of the department’s own mission, and it could have disastrous consequences – particularly for women and LGBT patients.
The department is taking public comments on this proposed rule – which means they must consider and respond to our opinions. We have a short window to mount overwhelming opposition to this rule and stop it from taking effect.
This proposed rule, if it were adopted, could have serious repercussions for patients seeking treatment like abortions, HIV treatment, or gender-confirming surgery to which some people – like extremist Vice President Mike Pence – might object. Here are just some of the ways the proposed rule could hurt patients:
- Pregnant women experiencing miscarriages or other serious pregnancy complications could be refused abortion care even when the woman’s life is at risk, and even when the fetus has no chance of survival.
- Health providers could discriminate against transgender patients seeking medically necessary care.
- Hospital staff could refuse to sign in patients seeking abortions, to assist patients in any way before getting sterilizations, or even provide any information about medical conditions and treatment options.
Submit a public comment now and we’ll deliver it to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Health and Human Services should be protecting our health, not proposing rules that could hurt the health and lives of women, trans people, LGB people, people living with HIV, and others seeking critical care.
We’ve already taken legal action for patients hurt by similar discriminatory policies – and if this rule goes into effect, then we’ll see the Trump administration in court. But let’s get to work now to stop this license to discriminate in its tracks.
Thanks for taking action,
Louise Melling
ACLU Deputy Legal Director, fighting against discrimination
Filed under: General Problems
No!! They have not helped the chronic pain patients!!
If women have a history of miscarriages or know their health is at risk they should use birth control condoms are free everywhere costing tax payers nothing. We people are in pain thru no fault of our own And are discriminated by the millions where’s the aclu for our plight? If people want a sex change then they know there’s health risks I’m sure when they sign the dotted line ti get the operation it comes with a warning similar to against medical advice so you got problems wth your sex change and now want to get help how that my problem? Sorry it’s a rough new world. Believe me i just had a 3 level acdf and was given 000.01 of dilauded per 6 minutes post op in my pain pump for only 24 hours more than half of the dilauded rass tossed in the fucking trash. I was also drugged with ketamine causing me to have severe hallucinations for this surgery. I am still in god awful pain and nobody gives a damn. All these people who think their being discriminated against their better off in a back alley that’s how bad medical care is today. Choose your battles.
No thanks.
I’ll help the ACLU with their issue just as much as they’ve helped Chronic Pain Patients fight CMS and CDC for their medications – which is none at all.