U.S. Senate Defeats Health Care Providers' Conscience Amendment

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate defeated a Budget Bill amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn. The amendment, defeated by a vote of 41-56, would have banned discrimination against health care providers who refuse on grounds of conscience to "participate in specific surgical or medical procedures or prescribe certain pharmaceuticals." It would have also prohibited coercion of patients to enroll in specific health care plans. The defeat clears the way for the Department of Health and Human Services to move ahead with its announced plans to propose repeal of the conscience regulations covering health care workers adopted in the final days of the Bush administration. Catholic News Agency reports that 16 of the 25 Catholic Senators voting on the amendment voted against it.