Prescribing religious freedom in healthcare

WASHINGTON—The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) unveiled a new division Thursday to help ensure healthcare workers can do their jobs without being forced to violate their faith.

The new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division falls under the Office for Civil Rights. Federal statutes protect freedom of conscience and religion but have lacked enforcement over the years. This new wing of HHS seeks to preserve the rights of Americans who do not want to participate in abortion, assisted suicide, or other practices that violate their religious convictions.

“Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience rights are just empty words on paper if they aren’t enforced,” said Office for Civil Rights director Roger Severino.

HHS logged 10 complaints regarding religious freedom violations between 2008 and November 2016, Severino told reporters Wednesday. Since President Donald Trump’s election, the department recorded 34 complaints to the Office of Civil Rights as more and more healthcare workers feel coerced.

“No one should be forced to choose between helping sick people and living by one’s deepest moral or religious convictions, and the new division will help guarantee that victims of unlawful discrimination find justice,” Severino said.

Former HHS Secretary Tom Price resigned in September and the Senate has yet to confirm Trump’s chosen replacement, Alex Azar. Acting HHS Secretary Eric Hargan approved the new division and said it’s part of the Trump administration’s agenda to protect religious freedom.

The division stems from HHS and Department of Justice guidance released in October. That executive action rolled back Obama-era rules requiring most companies to provide birth control in health insurance plans. Trump’s guidance allowed more companies to opt out of providing contraceptive and abortifacient drugs or other coverage that might violate conscience rights.

Congress has multiple statutes to protect healthcare professionals from performing medical acts that violate their beliefs. The Church amendment, the Coats-Snowe amendment, and the Weldon amendment all allow nurses and doctors to opt out of participating in abortion and give them legal recourse if that choice damages their careers. The Affordable Care Act also includes language to protect healthcare workers from participating in assisted suicide in states that have legalized the practice. But those statutes, passed with wide bipartisan support, lacked enforcement under the Obama administration.

The new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division designates staff to work full time on enforcing these statutes and conducting audits and compliance reviews across the country. The division also will manage outreach campaigns to help others in the medical field who have religious objections to performing certain procedures.

“For too long, governments big and small have treated conscience claims with hostility instead of protection, but change is coming and it begins here and now,” Severino said.

Flake doubles down on Trump critique

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., one of President Donald Trump’s biggest GOP critics, doubled down on his rebuke this week.

In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, Flake called Trump’s ego and treatment of the press dangerous to the nation’s democracy. He urged his colleagues in Congress to hold the president accountable for his words.

“An American president who cannot take criticism—who must constantly deflect and distort and distract, who must find someone else to blame—is charting a very dangerous path,” Flake said. “And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the president adds to the danger.”

Trump often tries to manipulate the truth to serve his own purposes, Flake added. He cited as examples the president’s claims about the crowd size at last year’s inauguration, claims of widespread voter fraud, and claims the Russia investigation is a “hoax.”

“Ignoring or denying the truth about hostile Russian intentions toward the United States leaves us vulnerable to further attacks,” Flake said.

He went on to note some of Trump’s language sounds similar to words and phrases used by former Russian dictator Joseph Stalin.

Last year, Flake announced he would not seek re-election. Knowing he doesn’t have to appeal to voters this fall, Flake no longer needs to worry about making nice with Trump or his party allies. The senator now often earns praise from Democrats for sharing his unvarnished opinions of the president.

That doesn’t sit well with some GOP leaders.

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called Flake's assertions unfair.

“Sen. Flake, turn on the news. It’s wall-to-wall with biased coverage against @POTUS,” McDaniel tweeted. “He has every right to push back. Comparing the leader of the free world to murderous dictators is absurd. You’ve gone too far.” —E.W.

Park service revolt

The majority of members on the U.S. National Park Service Advisory Board resigned this week citing frustration with the Trump administration. In a letter submitted to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, nine of 12 board members quit their positions. Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles led the panel for seven years and said the board repeatedly tried and failed to secure a meeting with Zinke after he took over the department last year. “We understand the complexity of transition but our requests to engage have been ignored and the matters on which we wanted to brief the new department team are clearly not part of the agenda,” Knowles wrote. President Donald Trump has yet to nominate a director for the National Park Service. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called Zinke’s refusal to meet with the advisory board inexcusable. “I call on Secretary Zinke to personally reach out to each member of the National Park Service Advisory Board and tell them their counsel is valued and that this administration respects local voices,” she said. —E.W.