Vermont Hospital’s Federal Funding At Risk Over Allegation That Nurse Was Forced To Participate In An Abortion
The notice of violation against the University of Vermont Medical Center is the Office for Civil Rights' first such action since Director Roger Severino launched the Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom in 2018. The unnamed nurse says she was misled into thinking the procedure was related to a miscarriage and feared for her job when she found out it was an abortion. University of Vermont Medical Center disputes the events described by the nurse.
The Associated Press:
US Agency: Hospital Forced Nurse To Participate In Abortion
Vermont's largest hospital forced a nurse to participate in an abortion procedure over her moral objections in violation of federal law, a government civil rights agency said Wednesday. The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington could lose some federal funding if the two parties cannot agree within 30 days on the hospital's policies on employee participation in abortions, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced. (Ring, 8/28)
NPR:
Trump Administration Says Hospital Forced Nurse To Assist In Abortion
In 2017, the complaint alleges, the nurse was misled by her employer to believe she was assisting in a procedure scheduled after a miscarriage. "After [she] confirmed that she was, in fact, being assigned to an abortion, [her employer] refused her request that other equally qualified and available personnel take her place," the complaint reads. She then participated in the procedure and "has been haunted by nightmares ever since," according to the complaint. (Simmons-Duffin, 8/28)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Accuses Vermont Hospital Of Forcing Nurse To Participate In Abortion
The notice of violation, sent Wednesday to the University of Vermont Medical Center, is the latest example of the Trump administration’s focus on protecting “religious freedom” — a core value for antiabortion activists and other social conservatives key to the president’s political base. The action against UVM medical center is the third enforcement action taken in the 1 1/2 years since the Department of Health and Human Services created a conscience and religious freedom division within its civil rights office. It is the first that deals specifically with a health-care worker’s objection to participating in an abortion. (Goldstein, 8/28)
Modern Healthcare:
Vermont Hospital Accused Of Forcing Nurse To Assist In Abortion
UVMC disputed the allegations, which it said were based on a complaint from a former employee. "We flatly deny that we schedule any employees to participate in procedures they register objections to," UVMC spokeswoman Annie Mackin said. "We promptly and thoroughly investigated (the allegations) and determined that they were not supported by the facts." (Meyer, 8/28)
Vermont Public Radio:
Feds Issue Violation Notice To UVMMC After Nurse Reports Performing Abortion Against Conscience
Stephen Leffler, interim president of UVM Medical Center said the hospital investigated the allegations and found they were not supported by the facts. He said to his knowledge, UVM Medical Center has never compelled an employee to participate in a procedure they were not comfortable with. Leffler also disputed federal regulators' characterization of UVMMC as not having cooperated with their investigation. "From the outset, and as recently as this month, we offered to discuss our policies and practices with them," Leffler said. "We asked to receive their advice on how those policies and practices could be improved, consistent with our obligation to our patients." Leffler said the Office for Civil Rights did not take UVMMC up on the offer. (Corwin, Hirschfeld, Elder-Connors And Davis, 8/29)
The Atlantic:
Nurse Allegedly Forced To Assist Abortion Against Her Will
This case is the latest signal that the Trump administration is pointedly championing the rights of religious Americans. As Roger Severino, the head of the Office of Civil Rights, told me in an interview, “Religious-freedom laws are the ones mentioned in the very first amendment to the Constitution—they have pride of place. And they have been neglected for too long.” (Green, 8/28)
ABC News:
Trump Administration Backs Vermont Nurse Who Says She Was Forced To Assist With Abortion
Severino told reporters he felt it was a form of discrimination against employees' religious beliefs. He is pressing the case under the "Church Amendments," which are laws enacted in the 1970s to protect anyone who objects to performing abortion or sterilization procedures on religious grounds. "There is room for disagreement on these issues without having to coerce people," Severino said. (Flaherty and Tatum, 8/28)
CNN:
Medical Center's Federal Funding Threatened After Nurse Says She Was Forced To Participate In An Abortion
Severino declined to specify whether the abortion in which the nurse was allegedly compelled to participate was a pre-viability procedure, saying that "this was not an emergency circumstance" and that the Church Amendments don't make a distinction. He also declined to specify the number of witnesses, beyond "several," who were involved in the Office of Civil Rights' "fully investigated" probe into the allegations, adding that "we have enough to support our findings." (Kelly, 8/28)
The Hill:
Trump Administration Accuses Hospital Of Forcing Nurse To Assist In Abortion
The hospital could potentially lose millions of dollars in federal grants. According to the agency, the hospital has received $1.6 million over the past three years as part of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. (Weixel, 8/28)
