Proposed Federal Policy Could Let Health Professionals Refuse to Perform Abortion Procedures or Treat Trans Patients

The White House is reviewing a new, horrible policy that, if implemented, would allow health professionals to refuse to treat transgender patients and to perform abortions based on religious or moral grounds.

The policy, ironically crafted by the Department of Health and Human Services’s civil rights office, aims to protect a health worker’s right to be anti-abortion or transphobic and simultaneously will “punish organizations that don’t allow them to express their moral objections,” reports Politico.

Like every nearly other Trump official, HHS Civil Rights Office head Roger Severino is notoriously anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion, and anti-transgender rights. He has prioritized this policy, and reportedly plans to create a new division within the office to enforce it:

The pending rule, which could be released as soon as this week, has been described to POLITICO as establishing a new “division” of the HHS civil rights office that would conduct compliance reviews, audits and other enforcement actions to ensure that health care providers are allowing workers to opt out of procedures when they have religious or moral objections.

The office would also conduct outreach and technical support to help others who are seeking to strengthen protections for these workers.

The new rules, which roll back Obama-era changes to the Bush administration’s broad policy on religious and moral freedom, are expected to be formalized as soon as Friday—just in time for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the annual anti-abortion March for Life.