The nation's Catholic bishops have asked Congress to expand an exemption for health care workers who object to abortion to include hospitals and health care plans.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized a nationwide "coordinated effort" to make Catholic hospitals provide abortion services even though the church views abortion as a grave sin.
"No one who provides health care should be forced to participate in abortion," said Cathy Cleaver, director of planning and information for the bishops' pro-life office.
Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-Fla., has introduced the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, which would expand the current exemption for doctors in the Public Health Service Act to include "other health professionals, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, and any other kind of health care facility, organization or plan."
Current federal law protects "health care entities" that refuse to provide abortion services, but the bishops said that has been interpreted to cover only individual doctors.
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