Washington Post Examines Debate Surrounding Health Care Workers' Religious Freedom Vs. Patients' Rights To Abortion, Fertility Treatment, Birth

The Washington Post on Sunday in three articles examined how health workers' religious freedom can affect patients' rights to access abortion, fertility treatment and emergency contraception -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse. Summaries of the articles appear below.

• "A Medical Crisis of Conscience: Faith Drives Some To Refuse Patients Medication or Care": According to the Post, the debate is fueled by the push of medicine into new, controversial areas and the political prominence and rise of religious expression. Political and legal "battles" have ensued over whether health workers have the right to deny access to care for religious reasons, and Congress and more than 12 states are considering legislation that would require health workers to provide care or, in some cases, protect them from punishment if they do not, according to the Post. Advocates of health care workers' "right of conscience" say that it is vital to protect citizens from being made to act contrary to their religious and moral values, the Post reports. However, patients' rights proponents say that it is the professional and ethical responsibility of physicians to "put patients first," according to the Post. The issue is the "San Andreas Fault of our culture," Gene Rudd of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations said, adding, "How we decide this is going to have a long-lasting impact on our society." According to the Post, the issue has become more important as the embryonic stem cell debate continues to evolve (Stein [1], Washington Post, 7/16).
  

• "For Some, There Is No Choice": The Post on Sunday examined the "sense of siege" some religious health care workers experience when faced with performing duties that they find "morally reprehensible," such as dispensing birth control and EC and performing abortions. According to the Post, some health care workers "struggl[e] over where to draw the line" between their religious beliefs and the fear of being fined, reprimanded, denied promotion or fired (Stein [2], Washington Post, 7/16).
  

• "Seeking Care, and Refused": The Post on Sunday examined the experiences of patients who seek abortions, fertility treatment, birth control or EC and are faced with religious health care workers who are "overt" in their beliefs. According to the Post, some health care providers refuse to fill prescriptions for EC or birth control and other times they refuse to treat patients at all on religious grounds. Because refusals occur at "deeply personal, often traumatic moments," patients often are shocked, frightened, angered and humiliated when refused access to care, the Post reports (Stein [3], Washington Post, 7/16).
  

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