Bush issues rule letting doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others refuse to offer care they find ethically, morally or religiously objectionable

(H/T John Aravosis - America Blog.)

So if a health care provider finds Mormons and Evangelical Christians morally objectionable - because she thinks they're going to hell - can she refuse to provide health care? Or does the Bush rule only apply to making Baptist bigotry the law of the land?

From the Washington Post:

The Bush administration yesterday granted sweeping new protections to health workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal beliefs, setting off an intense battle over opponents' plans to try to repeal the measure.

Critics began consulting with the incoming Obama administration on strategies to reverse the regulation as quickly as possible while supporters started mobilizing to fight such efforts

The far-reaching regulation cuts off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, health plan, clinic or other entity that does not accommodate doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other employees who refuse to participate in care they find ethically, morally or religiously objectionable. It was sought by conservative groups, abortion opponents and others to safeguard workers from being fired, disciplined or penalized in other ways.

But women's health advocates, family planning proponents, abortion rights activists and some members of Congress condemned the regulation, saying it will be a major obstacle to providing many health services, including abortion, family planning, infertility treatment, and end-of-life care, as well as possibly a wide range of scientific research.

I'm sure Obama will overturn this on day one. Oh that's right, he's trying to reach out to pro-lifers like Rick Warren who think that abortion is like the Holocaust, and that it should be illegal in any circumstance. Well, good thing those women's groups are speaking up about Warren so that Obama knows he can't push them around. Oh, never mind - the women's groups haven't said boo about Warren

Oh, and this new rule would also permit a bigot to say that he finds you morally objectionable and thus doesn't want to provide health care to someone who's gay, Muslim, or that he thinks AIDS medication is immoral, or condoms, or anything else he pleases. I wonder if this means that a Christian Scientist pharmacist can just sit back all day long and not sell medicine to anyone.