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The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

Obama to review Bush abortion regulation

“The White House issued a statement late last week that revealed the Obama administration’s intentions to scrutinize former President George Bush’s regulation that strengthened job protections for doctors and nurses who deny certain medical services to patients because of moral reservations.”

The White House issued a statement late last week that revealed the Obama administration’s intentions to scrutinize former President George Bush’s regulation that strengthened job protections for doctors and nurses who deny certain medical services to patients because of moral reservations.

Obama administration officials and ostensible human rights activists have been quick to announce the atrocities and shortcomings of the regulation, reasoning that it is too broad in scope and has the capacity to undermine the health of patients.

Some extremists like House Representative Diana DeGette have even gone so far as to claim That rule was so broad that even the cashier at Walgreen’s could refuse to provide medication for somebody if the cashier decided they have a religious objection.

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Instead of using ugly terminology like abortion or contraceptive, she utilizes a more appealing and intentionally ambiguous term like medication to make you think Bush tried to give Joe the cashier the power to deny you your cholesterol prescription. Representative DeGette attempts to paint a picture of herself as the savior of the people from the grasp of an ideological tyrant when she appeals to your fear of an overreaching and intrusive federal government, when in fact her statements have no root in fact or reality.

What politicians like President Obama and Representative DeGette are truly concerned about is appeasing their grandest endorsers and individuals with the most influence, such as Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Really? I’m not completely sure how the regulation limits any kind of right for patients to receive healthcare, if such a right even exists.
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt made it pretty clear that the patient’s freedom to choose would not be inhibited when he said the regulation would in no way restrict healthcare providers from performing any legal service or procedure and that patients would be able to obtain the procedure — an abortion, for example — from someone who did not assert a conflict of conscience.

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards is employing the same strategy as Representative DeGette, pitting your fear of an overreaching federal government against reality. Her comments are shot down in plain speech by former Secretary Leavitt. If a particular woman is pro choice or pro abortion, she should regularly see a doctor that shares the same beliefs so that she can receive an abortion or other contraceptive if necessary. The federal government is not forcing her to select a doctor that is against abortion (at least not until Obama’s national healthcare plans are realized), so for Cecile Richards to imply that a women’s healthcare is threatened is just ludicrous. The Planned Parenthood President is just worried that she will be out of a job if this country moves toward moral responsibility, abolishing abortion, decreasing illegitimacy and lowering teen pregnancies.

It is inevitable, however, that the Obama administration will rescind the prior regulation and either replace it with a watered down version or completely nullify it. President Obama, in his never ending effort to appease, released a statement saying that he supports a carefully crafted conscience clause, bridging the gap between conservatives and liberals. But don’t let his famously transparent actions deceive you. The regulation in question ultimately falls under the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Obama nominee Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius who is notoriously pro-abortion and will have the greatest amount of influence over the repeal of the regulation.

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