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July 26, 2012: The recent history of conscience rules


1973: The Church Amendment states that hospitals and individuals receiving federal funds will not be forced to participate in abortion or any other procedure that violates their moral or religious convictions.


1996: Public Health Service Act Section 245 prohibits discrimination against individuals or institutions that refuse to undergo or require abortion training. It also protects those who refuse to perform or provide referrals for abortion.


2004: THe Hyde/Weldon Conscience Protection Amendment is an appropriations rider that prohibits discrimination against federally-funded health care providers (including individuals, hospitals, and health insurance companies) who will not pay for, provide, or refer for abortion.


2007: American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) issues Opinion No. 385, “The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine,” stating that health care providers have a duty to refer patients for services the provider finds morally objectionable or move their practice in close proximity to a provider of such services. ACOG warns OB/GYNs that “disqualification or diplomatic revocation . . . may occur whenever” they come into conflict with this ethical code, putting at risk board certification needed for hospital privileges and medical practice in general.


Dec. 18, 2008: Bush’s Provider Conscience Regulations provide a way to enforce conscience protection.


March 5, 2009: The Obama administration signals its intent to rescind Bush’s Provider Conscience Regulations.


April 9, 2009: The 30-day public comment period on Obama’s proposal to eliminate Bush’s Provider Conscience Regulations ends. An organization set up to fight the repeal, the Freedom2Care Coalition, reported sending nearly 50,000 protest comments to the Department of Health and Human Services.