The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today on the Bush administration's midnight regulations, including the Department of Health and Human Services's "provider conscience" regulation, the rule that would give providers broad protections to deny care that did not fit with their moral and/or religious beliefs. The National Women's Law Center hailed the meeting, and president Marcia Greenberger stated, "It is imperative that the Bush Administration's last minute attempts to diminish women's rights and health be reversed."
In a statement, NWLC observed,
An examination of the process shows that the Bush Administration hastily and recklessly adopted the HHS rule. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviewed a draft of the proposed rule in only hours, even though the process normally takes weeks or months. Neither HHS nor OMB undertook coordination with other federal agencies before the new rule was issued, in violation of Executive Order 12866.
More on the hearing to come.
