The Trump administration on Thursday adopted protections for medical professionals who have moral objections to performing certain controversial procedures.
The new rule, instituted by the Department of Health and Human Services, will prohibit regulations designed to punish doctors who decline to perform abortions, assisted suicides, and sterilizations, among other procedures. The rule requires that clinics and research institutions receiving federal funding from programs including Medicare and Medicaid “submit written assurances and certifications of compliance” with federal laws safeguarding conscience and religious rights.
“Just today we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students, and faith-based charities,” Trump said in the White House Rose Garden during a statement honoring the National Day of Prayer. “They’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”
The rule will be enforced by the Office of Civil Rights and will take effect in 60 days.
“Laws prohibiting government funded discrimination against conscience and religious freedom will be enforced like every other civil rights law,” OCR Director Roger Severino said in a statement. “This rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won’t be bullied out of the health care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life.”
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05.08.2025