From AU's Wall of Separation blog:
If you think that healthcare providers should always put patients first and that providers’ religious beliefs should never dictate patient care, we need you to tell the Trump administration today.
In January, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a new regulation could allow hospitals, insurance plans, healthcare providers and even a receptionist to use religion to turn away patients in need of care—no matter how much harm it would cause. Patients could even be denied life-saving care.
No provider should withhold information about medical treatments from a woman who is miscarrying. And no transgender patient should be denied life-saving care because their doctor has a religious objection.
But that’s exactly what this proposed HHS rule could allow. Every federal government regulation must go through a public comment process, which means that you have an opportunity to raise your voice to let the administration know that you oppose using religion to discriminate and cause harm.
Religious freedom is fundamental, but so is the right to get the healthcare you need. The government should never allow the religious beliefs of a healthcare provider to come before what is best for the patient. We need you to urge the administration to put patients first.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has gone down this road. Last fall, federal agencies put out rules that allow employers and universities to cite religion as justification for denying women access to birth control in their insurance plans. And because you made your voice heard, Americans United joined allies to deliver more than a half-million comments to HHS from people across the country who think that using religion to deny access to healthcare is wrong. Americans United has been fighting those harmful rules ever since.
President Donald Trump is letting a handful of religious fundamentalist leaders set policy in this country because they are the core of his remaining supporters. Their agenda threatens the rights of countless Americans, including LGBTQ people, women, religious minorities, and nontheists.
Now is the time to speak out against the Trump administration’s latest attack on healthcare and the fundamental protections for religious freedom. Your voice makes a difference.
Let the Trump administration know that a patient’s health should always come first—please submit your comment today!