Birth control regulation draws lots of comment

Critics say the regulation is a back-door effort by the Bush administration, as it winds down its tenure, to restrict access to birth control. Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, put it this way:

This Bush proposal has the potential to undermine state laws that guarantee rape survivors' access to contraception in the emergency room or require insurance companies to cover prescription birth control in the same way they pay for Viagra...This is yet another example of just how out of touch Bush is with the country's priorities -- and we will not give up in our fight to keep him from doing more damage as he prepares to leave the White House.

Supporters counter that the new regulation would simply enforce an old federal "conscience" provision that allows healthcare professionals to opt out of doing abortions or providing contraceptives if that violates their own beliefs.

As Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said last month:

This proposed regulation is about the legal right of a healthcare professional to practice according to their conscience. Doctors and other healthcare providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience. Freedom of expression and action should not be surrendered upon the issuance of a healthcare degree.

Either way, the deadline for public comments is at midnight today, and department spokesman Kevin Schweers reports a "higher than average" volume of comments. He said the comments mirror those posted on Leavitt's blog.

This week Leavitt met with two of the regulation's biggest critics -- Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington -- and if body language is any indication, the reg will probably be finalized soon.

Murray, saying she appreciated Leavitt's time, noted that the two senators "received no guarantee that women's access to contraceptives will be protected if these rules move forward."

Clinton said they had a "very frank conversation about how this rule could create a slippery slope leading to patients being denied access to contraception." While she urged Leavitt to "take these concerns into consideration," she did not sound optimistic, saying:

With the public comment period coming to a close, everyone who cares about women having access to the health care they need must make their voices heard.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Ron Edmonds/Associated Press

Comments

[Patrick]

So much for being pro-choice.