The midterms are drawing near, and Joe “I’m the Democratic Party” Biden’s poll numbers continue to crash. Desperate Democrat incumbents are fleeing from his policies on the campaign trail (yet voting for them in Congress), and the administration is desperate to do something, anything to appeal to its radical left base.
Their latest move is to revoke a Trump-era policy from 2018-19 that never even took effect. The “conscience” rule was intended to allow health care providers to not take part in abortions and other such “treatments” that violated their own conscience. The pushback was fierce, and the rule was never implemented. But that doesn’t stop the political theatrics of “revoking” it.
The Biden administration is preparing to scrap a Trump-era rule that allows medical workers to refuse to provide services that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, three people familiar with the deliberations told POLITICO.A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that the policy change is underway, saying: “HHS has made clear through the unified regulatory agenda that we are in the rulemaking process.”. . . . The so-called conscience rule, unveiled in 2018 and finalized in 2019, was blocked by federal courts after dozens of states, cities and advocacy groups sued, and has never been implemented.Had it gone forward, it would have allowed doctors, nurses, medical students, pharmacists and other health workers to refuse to provide abortions, contraception, gender affirming care, HIV and STD services, vasectomies or any procedure to which they object.Rescinding the rule is seen by progressive advocates as a key part of dismantling the Trump administration’s legacy on reproductive rights, which Democrats promised to do once they took control of Washington. Last year, Biden moved to undo anti-abortion restrictions on the Title X family planning program and foreign aid, and many groups have pushed for the “conscience” rule to be next.. . . . Many progressive groups that have called for the rule change say they’re reserving judgment until they see whether the Biden administration will completely undo the Trump administration rule or leave some aspects in place.“We look forward to seeing the proposed rule’s text to ensure that the federal government safeguards patients’ need for high-quality health care,” said Audrey Sandusky, the spokesperson for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. Still, she added, “This action will go a long way toward strengthening patient access to high-quality health care and protecting the integrity of key HHS programs, including the Title X family planning program.”
The goal, as they clearly state, is to erase President Trump and his legacy. In this case, though, it seems a bit more like politics as usual than anything substantive. Revoking a rule that was never implemented is going to make these leftwing groups happy and won’t upset incumbent Democrats—or anyone else—so it probably feels like a “win” to Team Biden.
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