{"id":198344,"date":"2019-03-12T17:17:01","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T22:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=198344"},"modified":"2019-03-12T16:57:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T21:57:04","slug":"medicare-for-all-destroys-medical-conscience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/medicare-for-all-destroys-medical-conscience\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Medicare-for-All\u2019 would erase conscience protections for doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(National Review<\/a>)\u00a0I just published a detailed article here<\/a> deconstructing the \u201cMedicare for All Act of 2019<\/a>\u201d \u2014 which is actually much closer to Medicaid for all \u2014 that aims at centralizing our healthcare system into a rigid single-payer model.<\/p>\n

At 120 pages, the legislation is so chock-full of authoritarian power grabs, that length and readability considerations did not allow me elucidate upon every objectionable aspect the bill. One major omission I was forced to make \u2014 because it takes many paragraphs to explain \u2014 was the bill\u2019s deleterious impact on doctors\u2019 religious freedom.<\/p>\n

Specifically, if the bill becomes law, kiss \u201cmedical conscience<\/a>\u201d goodbye. Medical-conscience laws protect doctors and other medical professionals from being forced to provide services against their religious or moral beliefs, most notably, around abortion and sterilization.<\/p>\n

The medical establishment, the bioethics movement, Democrats<\/a>, and the mainstream media<\/a> are determined to eradicate these protections. The bill seeks to do just that.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how: To receive fees from the government, a doctor must be a \u201cparticipating provider,\u201d a status that requires the signing of a \u201cparticipation agreement.\u201d The PA effectively treats doctors like so many serfs in subservience to the government baron since they have to adhere to the performance terms in the agreement dictated by the HHS \u2014 a take-it-or-leave-it deal known in the law biz as a \u201ccontract of adhesion.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018Medicare for All\u2019 would mean federal taxpayer-funded abortion on demand<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The bill states that participating providers may not \u201cdiscriminate.\u201d But the definition of discrimination goes well beyond invidious behaviors such as racism, to areas of practice that could force doctors to violate their own religious or moral beliefs. From the bill, (my emphasis):<\/p>\n

(a) IN GENERAL.\u2014No person shall, on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, marital status<\/em>, citizenship status, primary language use, genetic conditions, previous or existing medical conditions, religion, or sex, including sex stereotyping, gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy and related medical conditions (including termination of pregnancy<\/em>), be subject to\u2026discrimination by any participating provider\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, let\u2019s look at this provision required to be part of the participation agreement:<\/p>\n

A participation agreement described in this subsection between the Secretary and a provider shall provide at least for the following: (A) Items and services to eligible persons shall be furnished by the provider without discrimination<\/i>\u2026Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed as requiring the provision of a type or class of items or services that are outside the scope of the provider\u2019s normal practice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does this mean?<\/p>\n

In bioethics literature, refusing to provide an abortion is considered \u201cdiscrimination.\u201d So too is refusing to provide reproductive services to single people or gay couples. The same is beginning to be said of refusing to provide controversial interventions for gender dysphoria, such as halting puberty in children or performing sex-change surgeries.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these two sections of the bill would prohibit obstetrician\/gynecologists asked for an abortion from saying no because it would be deemed discrimination \u201cbased on medical conditions (including termination of pregnancy).\u201d (This provision would not apply to, say, a podiatrist or radiologist, because abortion would be outside the \u201cthe provider\u2019s normal practice.\u201d) Nor could a relevant doctor refuse to treat children with gender dysphoria, etc..<\/p>\n

Such \u201cdiscrimination\u201d would be legal cause for revoking the doctor\u2019s participation agreement, an effective blacklisting since the participation agreements hospitals, group practices, and other medical institutions are forced to sign prohibit their hiring any doctor whose own PA was revoked \u201cfor cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, there you have it. Medicare for All would compel MDs to hew to progressive cultural values in their practice of medicine at the threat of losing the ability to earn a living \u2014 even if that means violating their own religious faith and moral beliefs<\/em>. That\u2019s both authoritarian and un-American.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at National Review<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a> for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(National Review)\u00a0I just published a detailed article here deconstructing the \u201cMedicare for All Act of 2019\u201d \u2014 which is actually much closer to Medicaid for all \u2014 that aims at centralizing our healthcare system into a rigid single-payer model. At 120 pages, the legislation is so chock-full of authoritarian power grabs, that length and readability […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":192836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Medicare-for-All\u2019 would erase conscience protections for doctors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Medicare for All would compel MDs to agree to ignore their consciences at the threat of losing their ability to earn a living in their field.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/medicare-for-all-destroys-medical-conscience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Medicare-for-All\u2019 would erase conscience protections for doctors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Medicare for All would compel MDs to agree to ignore their consciences at the threat of losing their ability to earn a living in their field.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/medicare-for-all-destroys-medical-conscience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-12T22:17:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-12T21:57:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/doctors.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wesley J. 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