The Government Shouldn't Force Pro-Life Doctors To Promote Abortion, And A Federal Judge Agrees

Forbes ^ | July 23, 2017 | George Leef

[reaganaut1]

The Alliance Defending Freedom is a public interest law firm that fights to maintain religious liberty, free speech, and the right of people to freely live out their faith. The group was recently branded a “hate-group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which seems to think that disagreement with its ultra-left beliefs amounts to “hate.”

One reason why ADF has earned the enmity of SPLC (and many others on the Left) is the success it has had in litigating against overreaching government policies that infringe upon Americans’ constitutional rights. Such a case is National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Rauner.

That case arose because last year Illinois amended its 1977 Healthcare Right of Conscience Act, (HCRCA) a law enacted to “respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to act contrary to their conscience in providing health care services and medical care.” The law specified that no healthcare provider could be held criminally or civilly liable for refusing to counsel or participate in any service that is contrary to his conscience.

But the law as recently amended provides that the protection of the HCRCA is lost to healthcare providers unless they adopt certain protocols that boil down to this: those who object to abortions must inform pregnant women about the availability of abortion, its possible benefits, and to provide them with information about other clinics “they reasonably believe may offer” abortions. In short the law now says: Either do abortions or give women referrals to places that do.

The most glaring problem with the new law is that it compels Americans to speak.

[Jeff Chandler]

The most glaring problem with the new law is that it compels Americans to speak.

At least is doesn't compel them to make a purchase.