HHS Secretary Leavitt Praised for Defending Physicians' Conscience Rights

WASHINGTON, March 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health and Human Services
Secretary Mike Leavitt was praised for defending physicians' conscience rights
by Deirdre McQuade, spokesperson on pro-life issues for the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops. She made her comments on March 19 following a public attack
on Secretary Leavitt by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights.

The attack was prompted by a March 14 letter from Secretary Leavitt to the
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), expressing concern about a
new ethics opinion from the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) calling on conscientiously opposed physicians to perform
or refer for abortions. Ms. McQuade's statement follows.

"Secretary Leavitt should be commended for defending federal laws protecting
the conscience rights of physicians. The new ACOG ethics opinion calling on
pro-life OB/GYNs to perform or refer for abortions is in direct conflict with
the policy reflected in federal law since 1973. Indeed, just yesterday, a
federal judge in California dismissed a challenge to a federal law protecting
physicians in government programs from being forced to do abortion referrals.

"If the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology relies on the ACOG opinion
when deciding whether to grant board certifications, hospitals could find
themselves illegally discriminating against perfectly qualified physicians who
have been denied certification for ideological reasons. Any HHS Secretary
should be concerned about the possibility of federal health care institutions
placing themselves in conflict with federal law.

"The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights (RCRR), formerly known as the
Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights, has nonetheless launched a personal
attack on Secretary Leavitt for doing his job. RCRR's March 18 news release
accuses the Secretary of displaying a 'narrow view of conscience,' 'disregard'
for women,' and a 'dogmatic indifference to the patient.'

"But it is RCRR that has a narrow view of conscience -- so narrow as to
recognize a genuine conscience claim only among those who happen to agree with
RCRR about abortion. In fact, women and men, physicians and non-physicians,
have a fundamental right not to be forced to participate in actions they
believe are gravely wrong, especially actions involving the taking of an
innocent human life. Moreover, most OB/GYNs in training today are themselves
women, and these women have rights, too.

"The abortion industry -- and its allies in medical groups -- have often
complained that so few doctors are willing to perform abortions, but that is
no excuse for coercing pro-life physicians to do their dirty work. The
movement that used to call itself 'pro-choice' is becoming a parody of
itself."

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Pro-Life
Activities

Kevin Moore of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for
Pro-Life Activities, O: +1-202-541-3206, C: +1-203-788-8497