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LIFE ISSUES FORUM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No One Should Be Forced to Participate in Abortion December 1, 2017
By Greg Schleppenbach
In early November, three brave nurses came to
Washington, D.C. to tell their disturbing stories of coercion to members
of Congress and the public-about how they were forced to choose between
participating in abortion and losing their jobs.
Cathy DeCarlo came to the U.S. from the
Philippines in 2001 to advance her nursing career. In 2004, the New York
City hospital that hired her assured her that she would never have to
compromise her conscience by participating in an abortion. But on May
24, 2009, the hospital tricked Ms. DeCarlo into serving a patient having
a late-term abortion. If she didn't assist, she would lose her nursing
license, destroying her career.
"I'll never forget that day as I watched in
horror as the doctor dismembered and removed the baby's bloody limbs,
and then I had to account for all the pieces," Cathy said at a press
conference outside the U.S. Capitol. "I still have nightmares about that
day."
Fe Vinoya is a nurse in a same-day surgery
unit in New Jersey where she and twelve other nurses were told they had
to be trained to assist in abortions. Their jobs were threatened if they
refused. "After years of working as a critical care and emergency room
nurse, I never imagined that the hospital I worked for would force me to
choose between taking the life of an unborn child and losing my job,"
Fe said. "[W]hen the government denies or coerces healthcare providers'
conscience[s], it not only hurts patients and those of us committed to
serving them, it also deters others from joining the profession," Fe
added.
The third nurse, Sandra Mendoza, worked for
eighteen years in pediatrics at the Winnebago County Health Department
in Rockford, IL. In 2015, Sandra was informed that her clinic was being
merged with women's health services and, consequently, all nurses would
have to be cross-trained in abortion referrals and abortion-causing
drugs. When Sandra objected, she was told that if she didn't
participate, she could no longer work at the health department.
"Like many nurses I know... I view nursing as
more than just a job, but a calling and a vocation," Sandra said. "I'm
called to protect life not destroy it. I'm called to serve others and do
no harm, as the Hippocratic Oath I took states. While we may not all
agree on abortion, I'd hope we can all agree that no doctor or and nurse
should be forced out of employment on account of their faith and
commitment to protecting life."
In addition to medical providers and trainees
being forced to participate in abortion, churches and others who oppose
abortion are being forced to provide insurance coverage for it in a
growing number of states. Current federal conscience protection laws are
failing to prevent such discrimination due to loopholes and
insufficient enforcement mechanisms. This can be solved, but your help
is needed.
The Conscience Protection Act (H.R. 644/S.
301) fixes those loopholes and provides victims of discrimination with
the ability to defend their rights in court. Contact Congress now
through www.humanlifeaction.org
to urge your representatives to enact the Conscience Protection Act as
part of its Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bill. Finally, follow and
share the #StandWithNurses social media campaign advocating for nurses
like Cathy, Fe, and Sandra. Your voice matters!
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