| Teen childbearing costs US taxpayers $7 billion each year in direct costs associated with health care, foster care, criminal justice and public assistance. |
| Advancing women's health by creating an environment in which the public and elected officials confidently support women's health policy. |
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|  | Bush Administration "Refusal Right" Regulation |
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| On December 19, the Bush administration published a finalized version of a new federal regulation vastly expanding the rights of individuals and institutions to refuse to provide or assist in providing health care services that offend their religious beliefs or moral convictions. The final regulation—which goes into effect in 30 days—is almost identical to the version initially proposed on August 26, despite the administration having received more than 200,000 letters in opposition to the regulation, including from mainstream medical associations; associations of state health officials; a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, numerous advocacy groups dedicated to civil, human, religious and reproductive rights, and even the administration’s own Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The new regulation makes it easier for health care providers to withhold information and services to patients, if the providers have moral or religious objections.
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| Why the ruling is damaging to women's health: | | This final HHS regulation broadens existing laws allowing doctors, nurses, insurance plans, hospitals — and nearly any other employee in health care settings that receive any federal funds — to deny access to birth control or any other health care service, without regard for the needs of the patient;
The regulation stretches the scope and reach of existing law beyond Congress' original intent and limits information on and access to the entire range of health care services, including treatment for infertility, depression, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and more;
The regulation undermines existing federal employment law, Title VII, which provides a careful balance to protect the religious beliefs of all employees — including health care workers — while also allowing health care providers to ensure that they have employees who will give patients access to the vital health care services and information they need; and
While all patients may face difficulty getting access to essential health care services because of health care religious restrictions, women overwhelmingly suffer the most — as women's reproductive health care services are subject to the vast majority of refusals. |
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| | President-elect Obama is on record as opposing this regulation, and his transition team—as well as members of Congress—are in the process of weighing their options. The discussions are reportedly focusing on when and how to overturn the regulation, not about whether to do so. Reproductive health advocates have asked for the new administration to suspend the regulation immediately upon taking office and to then repeal it through the standard rulemaking process. |
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