President George W. Bush has taken one final shot at the abortion issue. Specifically, he has pushed to pass the “right of conscience” legislation which will allow medical personnel “to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care as well.”

For the past thirty years, doctors and nurses could refuse to perform abortions. In addition to that, medical staff can choose not to prescribe birth control pills and morning-after pills, and talk about abortion and contraception.

One Wayland High School teacher remarked, “this ruling makes the health services offered to young females seem so inconsistent, uneven, subjective and not universal. I wonder if this is even an issue in other countries and how they approach such ‘ethical’ concerns.”

“I think it is preposterous that President Bush thinks that not giving out birth control, or performing abortions will stop teen pregnancies. It will force teens to find other ways, such as illegal drugs, and illegal abortions,” said an anonymous junior. “Some kids go to their doctors because they cannot go to anyone else, and if doctors deny them treatment, what will they do? It is the obligation of the doctor to do everything in their power to protect the health of the patient.”

The Planned Parenthood Foundation and other supporters of abortion condemned the rule “as a last-gasp effort by the Bush administration to please social conservatives.”

“As a male, I feel like it should be the women’s right to choose,” one sophomore said. “Why does President Bush think that he has the right to deny women’s options? I understand that each doctor can still give birth control and abortions, but in some areas, doctors will take the easy way out, and deny treatment, no matter the outcome for the patient. It’s immoral.”

The “right of conscience” legislation is just one of the many last-minute Bush administration pieces of legislation. Some of the regulations include permitting concealed weapons in several national parks, allowing uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, and making “it easier for coal companies to dump mining debris in nearby streams and valleys,” the New York Times reports.

In order to overturn the legislations, the Obama Administration will have to “publish… a proposed new rule for public comment and then wait… months to be accepted before drafting a final rule.”

In order to speed up the process, congressional Democrats could elect to utilize the Congressional Review Act of 1996, which would enable them to establish fast-track procedures to overturn regulations. Even though this process speeds up the reversal of the new regulations, it will still take time, effort, and money to undo these last slew of regulations.

Sources
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122947155578512197.html

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