New Bush medical rules could harm LGBT, HIV patients

The Bush administration, in its final days, has issued a federal rule reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections.

Critics say the protections are so broad they limit a patient’s right to get care and accurate information.

“The refusal clause goes beyond women’s health and a woman’s right to an abortion or birth control,” said openly lesbian Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.

“Under the new regulations, a doctor may also refuse to treat a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person. Medical care must be based on science and the patients’ best interest, not the providers’ religious, political, or other philosophical views.”

The Human Rights Campaign also expressed concern over the new Department of Health and Human Services regulations, saying they could be used by a provider to administer an HIV test to a gay patient, and even be exempt from the statutory duty to tell the patient where else he could receive the test.

Under the regulations, a pharmacist could refuse to fill a prescription for hormone therapy if he or she has religious objection to transgender people.

It could also threaten women’s access to comprehensive health care by permitting pharmacists to refuse to dispense contraception even when doing so significantly burdens the patient’s access, or to refuse to participate in an emergency abortion even when the woman’s health is at risk.The regulations override many state laws protecting patients’ access to medical services.

“These regulations sacrifice patients’ right to medical care, permitting providers to refuse to do their jobs when they choose,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “We ask the Bush administration: what happened to ‘first, do no harm?’ Denying patients legal, safe medical treatments for any reason is simply wrong, and violates the trust that all Americans, regardless of our sexual orientation or gender identity, place in our doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.”HRC submitted comments objecting to these regulations when they were proposed, asking the administration to amend them to protect patients while preserving religious liberty.

“We are now calling on Congress to take action to eliminate these harmful regulations, and will encourage the incoming HHS leadership to amend them through the regulatory process,” said Solmonese.