Skilled care employees will not be required to perform duties that violate their religious beliefs, under a rule that was finalized Thursday.
The Conscience Rule will exempt healthcare staffers from participating in assisted suicides, executing problematic advanced directives, or carrying out vaccinations. Trump administration officials said this announcement fulfills presidential promises to protect workers’ religious freedoms.
“This rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won’t be bullied out of the healthcare field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life,” Office for Civil Rights Director Roger Severino said in a statement.
In a letter to the OCR chief last year, the American Health Care Association expressed concerns that the Conscience Rule would increase regulatory burdens for providers. Nursing facilities are already heavily regulated and this change would add yet another layer of compliance, wrote Lillian Hummel, senior director of policy and program integrity. She advocated for a long-term care exemption from the rule, which HHS did not include.
LeadingAge spokeswoman Lisa Sanders said the organization “supports religious freedom and the rights of all healthcare providers and their staff to live up to their religious beliefs,” adding that it does not encourage “intolerance and discrimination.”
HHS noted that the final rule replaces a 2011 version that “has proven inadequate.” The Conscience Rule implements about 25 provisions passed by Congress to protect workers’ religious freedom on the job, according to an announcement. It will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
