Trump Announces That Healthcare Workers Will Be Given ‘Freedom to Discriminate’
President Donald Trump marked the National Day of Prayer at the White House by announcing he would remove healthcare discrimination protections, reports BuzzFeed News.
“Today we finalised new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students and faith-based charities,” Trump said in a speech to conservative evangelical leaders.
The Department of Health and Human Services have said these new rules are in response to a so-called “culture of hostility to conscience concerns in health care.”
They issued advisement to healthcare workers that they “have the right under Federal law to decline to perform, assist in the performance of, refer for, undergo, or pay for certain health care‐related treatments, research, or services (such as abortion or assisted suicide, among others) that violate your conscience, religious beliefs, or moral convictions.”
GLAAD responded by saying: “The Trump Administration essentially wants to hand people a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people.”
While the National Center for Transgender Equality said: “The Trump-Pence admin just opened the door to more health care providers denying transition-related care, all while claiming that they lack evidence that religious bigotry harms LGBTQ people and other minorities.
“This horrific decision from the Trump-Pence U.S. Department of Health and Human Services puts lives at risk.
“Transgender people already face high rates of discrimination in health care settings.”
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