5-29-2019
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Washington’s attorney general has joined at least two dozen other states in suing the Trump administration over a new rule that lets health care professionals refuse to provide abortions and other services that conflict with their moral or religious beliefs.
The lawsuit contends the rule expands the list to possibly include everyone from ambulance drivers to receptionists and customer service representatives at insurance companies.
They say that could lead to discrimination in reproductive care, end-of-life decisions and care for transgender patients.
On May 21, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the “conscience rule,” which expanded nearly 30 federal statutes that apply to health care providers and organizations that receive funding from the federal government.
AG Ferguson’s office says this change allows the federal government to potentially cut off more than $10 million in health care funding.
If the conscience rule goes into effect this July, a pharmacist could refuse to fill a prescription for hormone therapy for a transgender person, and a doctor could refuse to provide medical records to a provider of physician-assisted suicide.