NRLC Urges Support
for the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act
July 2, 2002—Washington, DC: [Pro-Life Infonet Note: The following
letter was sent by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) to members of
the U.S. House of Representatives on June 19, 2002.]
Dear Member of Congress:
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) urges you to cosponsor and
otherwise support the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA) (H.R. 4691),
introduced by Congressman Michael Bilirakis.
Enactment of this bill is needed to protect the right of health care
providers to refuse to perform or otherwise participate in the performance
of abortions.
In 1996 Congress enacted the "Snowe-Jeffords Amendment" (42 U.S.C. §238n) to
protect the right of health care providers to decline to participate in the
killing of unborn children. That law provided protection for any "health
care entity" that declined to train in, perform, or arrange for abortions.
However, some have read the 1996 law narrowly, to protect only residents and
residency programs and only in the training context. H.R. 4691 would clarify
that the term "health care entity" includes the full range of participants
involved in providing health care, such as health care professionals, health
plans, hospitals, and other health facilities. ANDA also strengthens
existing law by providing that health care entities should not be forced by
government to pay for abortions.
ANDA is an urgently needed response to a national effort on the part of
certain groups to force health care providers to participate in abortions.
For example, in Alaska the state supreme court ruled that some community
hospitals must perform abortions against their will. A certificate of need
was denied to a proposed outpatient surgical center in Connecticut because
it declined to perform abortions, after abortion activists intervened in the
proceedings. A hospital merger in New Hampshire was undone when pro-abortion
activists intervened with the state attorney general. The City Council of
St. Petersburg, Florida, forced a private hospital to leave a non-profit
consortium because the consortium followed a pro-life policy. ANDA will
provide an umbrella of protection for health care providers who do not wish
to be involved in the practice of abortion.
NRLC asks that you support the ANDA and oppose all weakening amendments.
Thank you for your consideration of NRLC's position on this important issue. |
