April 3, 2009

Last night Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) submitted an amendment (No. 828) to the 2010 Budget Resolution (S.ConRes 13) that sought to protect the right of conscience for health care workers.

Last month, the Obama Administration began the process of rescinding a Department of Health and Human Services rule seeking to strengthen federal enforcement of the health care provider conscience protections in federal law.

Senator Coburn’s amendment attempted to preserve the foundational principle that the freedom of conscience should be protected for all health care providers, while at the same time ensuring that conscience may not be used as an excuse to discriminate against a patient in providing medical care on the basis of race or disability.

This amendment was defeated 41-56.