The University of Vermont Medical Center forced a nurse to help perform an abortion against her will, according to the federal government.
Although the hospital says the allegation is untrue, the Office for Civil Rights sent a notice of violation against the medical center, according to NPR.
The James Dobson Family Institute praised the Trump administration for taking this stance. The organization’s vice president of public policy, James Gottry, issues the following statement:
Doctors and nurses, those faithful men and women committed to preserving life, should never be required to take life. And yet a nurse at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) was coerced into participating in an abortion.
We applaud the actions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, which announced today that it is taking action against the UVMMC. The Medical Center blatantly violated the law by forcing a nurse to participate in an abortion, and by maintaining a policy that will force additional personnel to participate in abortion procedures despite moral or religious objections.
Abortion ends the life of an unborn child. It irrevocably alters the lives of the baby’s mother and father. And it wounds those who participate—whether willingly or unwillingly.
Health care professionals should never be forced to choose between their calling and their conscience. Unless we vigorously defend freedom of conscience, tragic stories like this will continue to become reality.
Americans must let their voices be heard. Join us in thanking President Trump; Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and this administration for recognizing the importance of protecting freedom of conscience and the sanctity of human life.
