Dems Rip Bush Draft Rule On Abortion

This debate isn't going to help John McCain on the whole Viagra versus birth control debacle.

Democrats are pouncing on a Bush administration proposal that would require medical practices and hospitals that receive federal aid to certify that they will not fire or refuse to hire doctors who refuse to offer abortion services and types of birth control.

The draft rule, first reported by The New York Times, is known as a "conscience clause" because it would allow nurses and doctors who have ethical or moral objections to abortion or birth control to refuse to prescribe or provide those services to patients. The rule proposes to cut off money to any grant recipient or hospital that refuses to hire doctors and nurses who object to abortion.

The problem, according to reproductive rights advocates, is that the definition of "abortion" by the Bush administration is so broad that it could extend to other forms of contraception. HHS is proposing that abortion be defined as any drug or procedure that "that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation,” the Times reported. The last part of the definition could include birth control pills or emergency contraception, which prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.

And the debate over whether birth control should be a required by insurance coverage has already created an incredibly uncomfortable moment for John McCain, as reported by Politico's Ben Smith, and this issue is sure to become a rallying cause for women's rights groups.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton have already issued blistering statements warning that the definition of abortion would extend to birth control that is regularly covered.

"If the administration goes through with this draft proposal, it will launch a dangerous assault on women’s health," Pelosi said. "I urge the president to reject this policy and join with Democrats to focus on preventing unintended pregnancies and reducing the need for abortion through increasing access to family planning services and access to affordable birth control"
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