The Trump Administration's recent announcement of a new division of the Department of Health and Human Services has raised some eyebrows in the medical community. The Conscience and Religious Freedom Division has been established to "more vigorously and effectively enforce existing laws" regarding conflicts between medical professionals' jobs and their religious convictions. A flurry of discussion followed the posting of a recent Medscape article by Kerry Dooley Young.
In particular, the issues of abortion and birth control were hotly debated.
One physician assistant spoke for many:
As a nation, we [deem that] all have certain inalienable rights, yet as healthcare providers we have to put our own moral or religious beliefs aside while our patients can inflict their will upon us? ... This is about our right to say, "I'm not comfortable with this."
Another physician assistant was even more specific:
No Christian should be forced to participate in abortion or any other procedure that violates their beliefs.
Others agreed up to a point. One healthcare professional wrote:
No physician should be refused the opportunity to exercise their conscience. But how far is this going to go? Can a physician choose to refuse treatment to a transgendered individual in the emergency room? Can a pharmacist use their personal beliefs
