HHS Issues New Strengthened Conscience and Religious Nondiscrimination Proposed Rule
HHS Issues New Strengthened Conscience and Religious Nondiscrimination Proposed Rule
Proposed changes would increase access to care and prevent discrimination
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), entitled Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes, which proposes to restore the longstanding process for the handling of conscience complaints and provide additional safeguards to protect against conscience and religious discrimination.
“No one should be discriminated against because of their religious or moral beliefs, especially when they are seeking or providing care,” said Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The proposed rule strengthens protections for people with religious or moral objections while also ensuring access to care for all in keeping with the law.”
“Protecting conscience rights and enforcing the law to combat religious discrimination is critical,” said Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. “Today’s proposed rule would strengthen these protections and reinforce our long-standing process for handling such conscience and faith-based objections. It also would take steps to help ensure that individuals are aware of their rights.”
In 2019, OCR issued a regulation that provided broad definitions, created new compliance regulations, and created a new enforcement mechanism for a number of statutes related to the conscience rights of certain federally funded health care entities and providers. The 2019 Final Rule was held unlawful by three federal district courts. In light of these court decisions, and consistent with the Administration’s commitment to safeguard the rights of federal conscience and religious nondiscrimination while protecting access to care, this NPRM proposes to partially rescind the Department’s 2019 rule while reinforcing other processes previously in place for the handling of conscience and religious freedom complaints.
Public comments on the NPRM are due 60 days after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register.
The NPRM may be viewed in the Federal Register: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/conscience-rule-nprm.pdf
Latest Stories
- Illinois Lottery Launches CASH POP, a New Draw Game Where Just One Number Can Win
- As Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month End, Englewood Family Scarred by Both Holds Vigil on a Street in the Neighborhood They Have Called Home for More Than 50 Years
- Two-year pilot will bring mobile testing directly to families in six neighborhoods where many children ages 1 to 3 have not been tested
- As pink ribbons come down, keep paying attention to your breast health
- RE: Hospitalization of Calumet City Mayor and Illinois State Representative Thaddeus M. Jones
Latest Podcast
Civic and Chicago Politics
