The city of San Francisco is taking the Trump administration to court in an effort to overturn new pro life rules that the Trump administration enacted May 2, 2019.
If it gains traction in courts, the legal challenge against the new rules could ultimately result in forcing doctors and nurses to perform abortions or refer women to places where they can have an abortion performed.
On May 2, 2019 on the National Day of Prayer President Donald Trump issued new rules protecting doctors and nurses from being required to perform abortions or provide women referrals to have an abortion. The rules are designed to reinforce existing federal law and protect the conscience rights of healthcare providers who have a moral objection to ending the life of a child.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued the 440 pages of new regulations, under the guidance of the Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar. The First Amendment is of course the first line of defense for healthcare personnel who have a moral objection to performing an abortion or from being forced to refer a women to someone who will commit an abortion. However the First Amendment rights of individuals and businesses working in the medical profession have still been under attack for sometime, and additional protections are necessary to reinforce the protections already currently in place by the First Amendment.
The new regulations issued under the Trump administration will protect medical personnel from having their conscience rights violated.
âThis rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals wonât be bullied out of the health care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life,â the Office of Civil Rights Director Roger Severino said in a statement. âProtecting conscience and religious freedom not only fosters greater diversity in health care, itâs the law.
Just hours after the final rules were announced the City of San Francisco filed a lawsuit challenging them. According to SFgate.com,
“City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Northern California on Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump made the announcement. He argues the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exceeded its statutory authority when it created the rule.”
Herrera also called the conscience rule a “perversion” of civil rights.
