ext_18484 ([identity profile] stevemb.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] filkertom 2008-08-25 08:22 pm (UTC)

"One day, the government issues an edict stating that you must also perform abortions."

Nice try at misrepresenting the issue.

The actual issue is that you want the government to nullify your boss' property rights, by nationalizing his decision about whether to put up with an employee who won't perform certain job functions. In principle, it's no different from a rule forbidding employers to fire people because they sit at their desks playing Minesweeper all day.

"We're talking about people who say "We don't do this procedure, at all"

Er, no. We're aren't talking about people who decide which procedures will and will not be performed at their facilities. From one of the original news cites (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-08-21-hhs-abortions_N.htm):

The proposed rule, which applies to institutions receiving government money, would require as many as 584,000 employers ranging from major hospitals to doctors' offices and nursing homes to certify in writing that they are complying with several federal laws that protect the conscience rights of health care workers.

Obviously, nobody needs to certify in writing that they are respecting their own rights to decide how to run their own businesses. What is being demanded is a committment to keep someone on the payroll for playing Minesweeper all day because the spreadsheets offend their sensibilities.


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