Kerby Anderson

Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of a new division within its Office of Civil Rights. There will now be a Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.

The division will protect doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers “from being coerced into participating in activities that violate their consciences, such as abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide.” The proposed rules will empower the division to enforce multiple statutes that have been passed by Congress and signed by presidents of both parties. Unfortunately, the Obama administration unilaterally (and unlawfully) ignored and otherwise undermined these regulations.

The ACLU, as you might imagine, has criticized the formation of the division and even threatened legal action. Last year, the ACLU filed numerous lawsuits attacking religious accommodations in a number of cases ranging from birth-control mandates to adoption.

Another group that protested the announcement was Lambda Legal, fearing this would have a negative impact on the LGBT community. That makes no sense since the division is to enforce existing law concerning healthcare and has nothing to do with homosexual or transgender issues. John Stonestreet and Breakpoint took the time to read the announcement. The rule mentions “abortion” 155 times and “suicide” 29 times. How many times does it use the words “LGBT” or “transgender?” That would be zero.

This new division does not deserve this criticism. It will be empowered to enforce laws that have been on the books for decades but were ignored or sometimes even rewritten by the previous administration. The head of this new division understands religious liberty because he previously worked for the First Liberty Institute. He and his agency will bring a needed corrective.

Healthcare workers should not be compelled to take innocent life, even if abortion is legal. They should not be forced to participate in assisted suicide, even if it is legal in some states. That is why we need this new division.