Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Patty Murray met yesterday with Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to express their disagreement with proposed HHS regulations that would broaden existing provider conscience protections. The pair has been led the Congressional opposition to the new regulations, which would require federally-funded health care providers to certify that none of its employees are required to assist with medical services they morally oppose. The Senators asked Leavitt how the final version of the regulation would prevent patients from losing access to health care or information. But, according to Planned Parenthood, Leavitt "failed to respond with any concrete assurances."
"Secretary Leavitt and I had a very frank conversation about how this rule could create a slippery slope leading to patients being denied access to contraception and other important information or care," said Sen. Clinton in a statement. But, as Sen. Murray added, "While I appreciate the Secretary sitting down with us today, we received no guarantee that women's access to contraceptives will be protected if these rules move forward."
Sens. Clinton and Murray have teamed up on other critical women's health issues, including the fight to bring emergency contraception over the counter. Twenty-eight senators joined Clinton and Murray in a letter opposing the regulations on July 22. Tomorrow is the last day for public comment on the new regulations.
