Ever watch a boxing match, when the bell has sounded and the losing fighter takes an obvious cheap shot against his opponent? The Bush administration is attempting to do some last-minute damage to the right to choice. The NY Times is reporting:
A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.
The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions."
Regardless of how one feels about abortion, this has to be one of the cheapest shots of all time.
But the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, 28 senators, more than 110 representatives and the attorneys general of 13 states have urged the Bush administration to withdraw the proposed rule.
A last-minute sop to those who only vote on a single issue?
The question isn't whether or not the Bush administration is attempting to create new law on abortion.
The question is whether or not Congress and the American people will continue to allow tyranny in the guise of "morality."
Do the American people have the right to expect the highest medical opinion, the ability to make the decisions that they expect to make as intelligent adults?
Or can their health care coverage force them to make decisions they are not comfortable with?