2008 Woodie Awards
A STEP TO THE LEFT
Slipping one past the electorate
Michael Millington
Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: Opinion
In accordance with efforts to protect conscience, the HHS proposal defines abortion as "any of the various procedures-including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action-that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation." (This includes contraception).
This definition labels a pre-birth entity as a "human being" possessing "life," and bypasses arguments over whether or not life begins at conception.
And to terminate the life of any human being is murder; thus, abortion qualifies as an illegal act.
No constitutional amendment would be necessary to prohibit abortion.
The conscience-based provisions provide a glaring loophole allowing for a direct attack on Roe v. Wade.
The rule's vagueness in regards to defining what constitutes questionable or objectionable services allows for depriving services beyond the act of terminating a pregnancy.
Patients may potentially be denied the right to AIDS testing if the practitioner finds it morally wrong.
Pharmacists can refuse to fill prescriptions, including those for birth control.
Any individual can be denied the right to information regarding alternative treatments, infringing on the right to have voice in what treatment will be applied.
To deny a patient the right to legal services due to a conflict with personal beliefs directly undermines the Bill of Rights.
The separation of Church and State extends beyond legislation.
Federally funded health services, particularly in regards to citizens covered by Medicare and Medicaid, must not be subjected to the moral judgment of health care providers.
The public has the ability to stop this intrusive action from being slipped past the legislative process. Until September 25, HHS will be accepting public comments.
Patients deserve access to any and all health services provided by federal funds and offered by public health centers.
To deny any individual what he or she legally entitled to based on personal notions of morality is, by definition, discrimination. And that is not a matter of conscience.
( Michael Millington is a senior english major. He can be reached at sasedptg@isugw.indstate.edu)
This definition labels a pre-birth entity as a "human being" possessing "life," and bypasses arguments over whether or not life begins at conception.
And to terminate the life of any human being is murder; thus, abortion qualifies as an illegal act.
No constitutional amendment would be necessary to prohibit abortion.
The conscience-based provisions provide a glaring loophole allowing for a direct attack on Roe v. Wade.
The rule's vagueness in regards to defining what constitutes questionable or objectionable services allows for depriving services beyond the act of terminating a pregnancy.
Patients may potentially be denied the right to AIDS testing if the practitioner finds it morally wrong.
Pharmacists can refuse to fill prescriptions, including those for birth control.
Any individual can be denied the right to information regarding alternative treatments, infringing on the right to have voice in what treatment will be applied.
To deny a patient the right to legal services due to a conflict with personal beliefs directly undermines the Bill of Rights.
The separation of Church and State extends beyond legislation.
Federally funded health services, particularly in regards to citizens covered by Medicare and Medicaid, must not be subjected to the moral judgment of health care providers.
The public has the ability to stop this intrusive action from being slipped past the legislative process. Until September 25, HHS will be accepting public comments.
Patients deserve access to any and all health services provided by federal funds and offered by public health centers.
To deny any individual what he or she legally entitled to based on personal notions of morality is, by definition, discrimination. And that is not a matter of conscience.
( Michael Millington is a senior english major. He can be reached at sasedptg@isugw.indstate.edu)
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