Federal judge vacates HHS ‘conscience rule’

In a combined case involving three separate lawsuits, a federal judge in New vacated the administration’s “conscience rule” this week. "The Conscience Provisions [in existing statutes] recognize and protect undeniably important rights," the judge wrote, but he found the process the rule put forward for enforcing those rights violated the federal Administrative Procedures Act and the Constitution. Nineteen states, the District of Columbia and various organizations filed the suits, calling the rule discriminatory. Plaintiffs feared allowing health professionals to deny patients treatments “on account of religious beliefs or moral convictions” could reduce access to contraception, physician-assisted suicide and vaccinations in addition to abortion. The rule was scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 22. The Trump administration has yet to indicate whether it will appeal the judge’s ruling. (Medpage Today story, 11/6/19)