Secretary Mike Leavitt | RH Reality Check

Bush 'Conscientious Refusal' Puts Us All At Risk

by Dr. Wendy Chavkin, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health

September 25, 2008 - 7:00am (Print)

Whatever religious values medical providers hold, we must also respect our patients' right to know all of their treatment options. For us, patients come first.

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Clinton, Murray Urge Leavitt to Protect Patients' Access to Care

by Emily Douglas

September 24, 2008 - 12:06pm (Print)

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.

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Medical Groups Protest New HHS Regulations

by Dr. Anne Davis, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health

September 24, 2008 - 12:00pm (Print)

Major medical professional organizations join together to protest new HHS regulations that would damage the integrity of the relationship between patients and health care providers.

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Countdown to Conscience Clause Regulation

by Rachel Walden, Our Bodies, Ourselves; Women's Health News

September 19, 2008 - 7:00am (Print)

New "provider conscience" regulations proposed by HHS could severely limit women's access to contraception and other health care. During a public comment period, the department continued to frustrate advocates' effort to comment on the new regulations.

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Using Pseudoscience at HHS

by Kathleen Barry, Women Donors Network

September 18, 2008 - 7:00am (Print)

The extremists are coming out of the closet with their real agenda: the assault on birth control.

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Provider Conscience or God Complex?

by Jesse Taylor

August 28, 2008 - 7:00am (Print)

The new HHS provider conscience regulations aren't a problem simply for women of childbearing age. Your body is now the tableau of conscience for whatever doctor or pharmacist you draw.

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Leavitt Misrepresents to Justify Proposed Regulation

by Rachel Walden, Our Bodies, Ourselves; Women's Health News

August 26, 2008 - 7:00am (Print)

The American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has clearly stated that certification is not at issue if a provider refuses to perform or refer for abortion. But HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt continues to cite this certification as justification for his new regulations.

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Proposed HHS Regulation Could Still Block Access to Contraception, Other Health Services

by Jessica Arons, Center for American Progress and Center for American Progress Action Fund

August 22, 2008 - 9:52am (Print)

HHS has released its proposed regulation to “help protect health care providers from [religious] discrimination.” The good news is it no longer attempts to re-define abortion to include birth control. But the regulation no longer defines pregnancy or abortion at all.

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Much Ado About Nothing: Pro-Life Misconceptions About Contraception

by Cristina Page, Moderator, OnCommonGround

August 22, 2008 - 7:00am (Print)

There's no evidence that any birth control method prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb. Why isn't that a relief to pro-lifers?

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Turning Backs on Patients: HHS Fails to Deliver on Contraception/Conscience Proposal

by Emily Douglas

August 21, 2008 - 6:48pm (Print)

After intense criticism in the mainstream media and from millions of Americans, HHS has removed an explicit redefinition of contraception as abortion from proposed regulations. In so doing, the agency may have created a much larger problem.

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