Conscience rights remain in force

The House worked to make sure that the conscience rights of Catholic hospitals and medical workers would not be stripped away.  As a result, private hospitals will not be forced to dispense emergency contraception in rape cases where the pills may be abortifacient.

The House added an amendment to S. 2073 expressly applying the protections of a 1975 Massachusetts statute authorizing private hospitals to opt out of abortion, sterilization, and contraception.  The Senate objected to the House amendment and offered its own—stating that the emergency contraception bill should be enforced “notwithstanding” any other existing law.  The House objected to this countermove.  Under the Senate amendment, Catholic hospitals would have lost their conscience protection under the 1975 statute, forcing them to give emergency contraception to pregnant women at the risk of causing an early abortion. 

In the end, neither amendment was included in the bill.  Even though the House amendment was taken out, the Senate amendment was rejected too.  By avoiding the worse-case scenario of adding the Senate’s “notwithstanding” language, Catholic hospitals achieved a substantial victory.  House Majority Leader John Rogers, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to defend the hospitals’ right of conscience, made it clear during the floor debate on July 21 that the House blocked the Senate amendment so that the 1975 conscience statute would continue to have full effect.  An amendment expressly applying that statute’s terms would have reinforced the hospitals’ position, but since the new bill does not expressly nullify the older statute, the conscience protection already on the books still remains in force.

Problems Remain

When S. 2073 was sent to the Governor, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference wrote a letter urging a veto.  Although the institutional integrity of Catholic healthcare was preserved, problems remained with the bill generally.  The mandate to provide emergency contraception in rape cases even when it may act as an abortifacient would still apply to public hospitals.  The letter quoted from documents issued by the neutral Food and Drug Administration, and by Planned Parenthood, among other advocates for emergency contraception, acknowledging that its use in some cases could fail to prevent conception and then prevent the implantation of the embryo.  The failure to implant causes the embryo’s death. 

In addition, the letter raised concerns about the over-the-counter part of the bill.  Emergency contraception, like any other potent medication, has risks and yet its long-term impact has never been researched.  The bill places no age restrictions, and lacks any requirement of parental notice or consent.  Thus, minors could receive risky and potentially abortifacient medication without their parents knowing.  When the Governor announced his veto, his arguments were similar to those raised in the MCC letter.  See Veto Message.

If it becomes law, the bill requires three different state agencies to create regulations implementing the over-the-counter section.  The Massachusetts Catholic Conference will monitor this process.

Things to Do

Governor Romney should be thanked for his veto, and commended for his courageous decision to acknowledge his rethinking about abortion.  His essay in the Boston Globe offered an eloquent and moving explanation of why he now opposes abortion on demand.  Let him know of your appreciation by calling his office at 617-725-4005 or by sending an email (go to the following web address to write your message:  http://www.mass.gov/Agovwebmail/WebMailPageControl.ser?level=101).