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The Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama has issued a notice for public comment on a proposal to rescind a dangerous Health Care Denial rule. We need your help to ensure that HHS does the right thing.
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When President Obama took office in January, the Bush Administration left him and the country to deal with its parting shot against women’s health: a Health Care Denial rule.  Despite public objections, the rule undermines the ability of American women to obtain basic reproductive health care, including birth control and information about abortion.

The rule is unnecessary because federal law already carefully balances protections for individual religious liberty and patients' access to health care.  The Bush rule, however, takes patients' health needs out of the equation. The rule appears to expand the ability of institutions and individuals to deny women access to birth control. It also permits individuals to refuse to provide information and counseling about basic health care services.  And it appears to permit health care institutions to ignore other laws that guarantee access to reproductive health care.

Fortunately, the Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama has issued a notice for public comment on a proposal to rescind this dangerous rule.  But, we need your help to ensure that HHS does the right thing.  Please submit your comments to HHS in support of rescission by using the form below. Or, read more first.

Recipients HHS Secretary

EDITABLE TEXT:

Rescission Proposal

Dear [Decision Maker],

* Please personalize your message

I am writing to urge you to completely rescind the Health Care Denial Rule.

This rule, finalized in the waning days of the Bush presidency, undermines the ability of American women to get basic reproductive health services, including birth control and information about abortion.  I welcome your proposal to rescind it.

The regulations appear to expand the ability of institutions and individuals to deny women access to birth control and to permit individuals to refuse to provide information and counseling about basic health care services.  Additionally, they appear to permit health care institutions to ignore other laws that guarantee access to critical reproductive health services.

Moreover, the regulations are unnecessary.  For years, federal law has carefully balanced protections for individual religious liberty and patients' access to reproductive health care.  But the Bush regulations take patients' health needs out of the equation.  I urge you to restore this important balance and protect access to basic care for the millions of Americans who depend on federally funded health care services.

I understand that when the Bush administration first proposed the rule, HHS received more than 200,000 comments; the overwhelming majority of which opposed the rule, including comments from major medical associations such as the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, women's health organizations, members of Congress, state governors and attorneys general, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, religious advocates, and the general public.  It is time to listen to the public opposition and rescind this dangerous rule.

According to researchers at the Guttmacher Institute -- a nonprofit think tank on sexual and reproductive health -- without the contraceptive services provided at publicly funded clinics, there would be 46 percent more unintended pregnancies (1.4 million more) annually in the United States than currently occur.

At a time when more and more Americans are either uninsured or struggling with the soaring costs of health care, the federal government should be expanding access to important health services, not interfering in programs that have successfully provided services for years.

Thank you for your proposal to rescind the rule, and I encourage you to quickly follow through with a complete rescission.

Sincerely,

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ACTION ALERT
From: "ACLU Internet Team"
Date: 11 марта 2009 г. 21:07

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******** We have until April 9 to protect women's health services
 
When President Obama took office in January, the Bush administration left him and the country to deal with its parting shot against women's health: a Health Care Denial rule. Despite public objections, the rule undermines the ability of American women to obtain basic health care services, including birth control and information about abortion.

Instead of striking a careful balance between individual religious liberty and patients' access to reproductive health care, the Bush administration took patients' rights and their health care needs out of the equation.

Fortunately, the Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama has issued a proposal to rescind the rule. But, it needs to hear from you to go forward with the rescission.

The deadline for public comments is fast approaching -- April 9 -- and we have to generate intense opposition to these dangerous regulations in order to convince the administration that they are doing the right thing by rescinding the rule.

http://action.aclu.org/hhs_comment

Sincerely,

The ACLU Internet Team
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This action is shared between women's rights & healthcare
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