The lame duck President isn’t done yet trying to screw over women in the name of his religious buddies. Once again, he is trying to implement rules that would allow pharmacists, doctors and other healthcare providers to refuse perfectly legal and legitimate access to medications and or medical procedures because on “religious or moral grounds.”

Now, this has been tried and failed before, but the Bush administration is trying an end run around this time by attempting to pass this off as “protection from discrimination” in employment. Just how can I be so sure that this is an “end run” and not just protection of employment rights as it is “proposed?” To determine that, you only have to look at who is currently protesting the proposal, and who is backing it.

According to the New York Times article, three officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including its legal counsel has opposed the ban and also goes on to point out:

The protest from the commission comes on the heels of other objections to the rule by doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, state attorneys general and political leaders, including President-elect Barack Obama.

So, who has come out in favor of this? Not surprisingly, the proposal is supported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals.

Now before anybody says, “well they can just go somewhere else.” It is not always that clear and simple. This mandate could effectively wipe out existing State laws that require insurance companies to pay for contraceptives, could leave Medicaid patients without care within a reasonable area of their homes and other such problems. It could even in some cases be used almost as a weapon, as it was pointed out in this example listed in the same article

The Ohio Health Department said the rule “could force family planning providers to hire employees who may refuse to do their jobs” — a concern echoed by Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

So effectively those against Planned Parenthood could seek jobs there, refuse to provide the support that women used the facility for, and be protected in their jobs by the law, rendering thing inoperable. It may sound far fetched on the surface, but who would believe that a group that is supposed to put “family” first (like Focus on Family) would spend in excess of $500K in order to ensure two people who love each other can’t get married because they don’t “approve” of the lifestyle. In this case they could actually make money while doing their damage.

This can’t be allowed. We cannot allow this lamest of ducks to get this one last opportunity to slap women in the face on the way out the door.

Filed under: Bush, Failures, Religious Right