{"id":634085,"date":"2021-08-11T16:20:24","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T20:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=634085"},"modified":"2021-08-11T16:20:45","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T20:20:45","slug":"exclusive-gop-lawmakers-accuse-biden-officials-of-working-at-the-behest-of-the-abortion-lobby-ignoring-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-gop-lawmakers-accuse-biden-officials-of-working-at-the-behest-of-the-abortion-lobby-ignoring-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmakers Accuse Biden Officials Of Working At The \u2018Behest Of The Abortion Lobby,\u2019 Ignoring The Law"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-gop-lawmakers-accuse-biden-officials-of-working-at-the-behest-of-the-abortion-lobby-ignoring-the-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=634085&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated federal conscience-protection laws when they told the Department Of Justice to drop a lawsuit against a hospital that forced a nurse to assist an elective abortion, Republican senators said in a Wednesday letter.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Daily Caller News Foundation first obtained the letter, which calls Becerra and Garland\u2019s handling of the case a \u201cprofound miscarriage of justice.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cYour actions signal to employers all around the country that they don\u2019t need to comply with the law because your agencies will not enforce it,\u201d the senators wrote.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cThey also signal that this administration would rather allow consciences to be violated at the behest of the abortion lobby rather enforce the law and protect religious liberty. We demand a full explanation of your agencies\u2019 actions,\u201d the letter said.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated federal conscience-protection laws when they told the Department of Justice to drop a lawsuit against a hospital that forced a nurse to assist an elective abortion, Republican senators said in a Wednesday letter.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Caller News Foundation first obtained the letter to the high ranking Biden administration officials, which demands an explanation as to why Becerra and Garland acted to dismiss the lawsuit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-defends-health-care-workers-being-forced-perform-abortions-vermont-lawsuit\">filed under former President Donald Trump\u2019s administration<\/a> in December 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Your handling of this case is a profound miscarriage of justice and a rejection of your commitment to enforce federal conscience laws for Americans of all religious beliefs and creeds\u2014and especially for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who object to abortion,\u201d 23 Republican senators, led by Tom Cotton of Arkansas and James Lankford of Oklahoma, wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour actions signal to employers all around the country that they don\u2019t need to comply with the law because your agencies will not enforce it,\u201d they continued. \u201cThey also signal that this administration would rather allow consciences to be violated at the behest of the abortion lobby rather enforce the law and protect religious liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Cotton Lankford UVMMC Letter on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/519749897\/Cotton-Lankford-UVMMC-Letter#from_embed\">Cotton Lankford UVMMC Letter<\/a> by <a title=\"View Mary Margaret Olohan&#039;s profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/506904746\/Mary-Margaret-Olohan#from_embed\">Mary Margaret Olohan<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The Trump Administration Lawsuit<\/h3>\n<p>HHS\u2019 Office of Civil Rights (OCR) <a href=\"https:\/\/public3.pagefreezer.com\/browse\/HHS.gov\/31-12-2020T08:51\/https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/about\/news\/2019\/08\/28\/ocr-issues-notice-violation-university-vermont-medical-center-after-it-unlawfully-forced-nurse.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">issued<\/a> a notice of violation against the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/09\/04\/nurse-health-care-abortion\/\">University of Vermont Medical Center<\/a> (UVMMC) in August 2019 for forcing a nurse to help with an abortion against her well-known objections to the procedure.<\/p>\n<p>The letter noted that the hospital\u2019s actions violated the 1973 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/ocr\/civilrights\/understanding\/ConscienceProtect\/42usc300a7.pdf\">Church Amendments<\/a> prohibiting HHS grant recipients from discriminating against individuals who refuse to assist with an abortion due to their religious beliefs. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/12\/xavier-becerra-roe-v-wade-partial-birth-abortion\/\">(RELATED: Biden\u2019s HHS Secretary Falsely Says There Is \u2018No Law\u2019 Dealing Specifically With Partial Birth Abortion)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cUVMMC not only violated one nurse\u2019s conscience rights, but it kept policies in place that explicitly required members with conscience objections to participate in procedures to \u2018ensure that patient care is not negatively impacted,&#8217;\u201d the senators said, adding that HHS\u2019 OCR discovered that the hospital had scheduled approximately 10 nurses with registered conscience objections to help with approximately 20 abortions.<\/p>\n<p>The senators continued: \u201cUVMMC easily could have accommodated objections without any disturbance to the services it provided, as it had for other non-religious and non-abortion-related objections, but instead continued to perpetuate a work environment that was hostile toward people of faith both in policy and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>HHS let the hospital know that it must conform its policies to the Church Amendments, the senators said in their letter, and HHS \u201ceven offered to work with UVMMC to help bring it into compliance.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/10\/xavier-becerra-steve-daines-mike-braun-department-of-health-and-human-services-roe-v-wade\/\">(RELATED: Six Times In A Row, Becerra Refuses To Admit Partial Birth Abortion Is Illegal)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But the hospital, which has been receiving grant funding from HHS since 1998, refused to comply with \u201cfederal law and its contractual obligations as a federal grant recipient,\u201d according to the letter.<\/p>\n<h3>Biden Administration Tells DOJ To Dismiss Lawsuit<\/h3>\n<p>The DOJ sued UVMMC in December 2020 at the referral of HHS under the Trump administration, the senators said, but under Becerra and Garland\u2019s leadership, HHS revoked its notice of violation, withdrew the referral to the DOJ, and requested the Justice Department dismiss the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe DOJ did in fact voluntarily dismiss the case on Friday, July 30, 2021, without any binding settlement or requirement that UVMMC remedy its unlawful policies or make restitution to, or even acknowledge, the nurse whose rights it violated,\u201d the senators said.<\/p>\n<p>Lankford and Cotton highlighted that Becerra and Garland withdrew the lawsuit knowing that there were \u201cno additional legal remedies for victims of discrimination in this case.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/02\/24\/nuns-little-sisters-of-the-poor-sasse-becerra-hhs-joe-biden\/\">(RELATED: \u2018Were The Nuns Going To Get Pregnant?\u2019 Sasse Hammers Becerra On \u2018Bullying\u2019 Little Sisters Of The Poor)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of supporting proposed legislation like the Conscience Protection Act to allow victims of discrimination to have their day in court, by reportedly unraveling the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within HHS OCR and dropping this lawsuit, you have spent your time blocking any possible legal remedy for victims of discrimination and making it harder for any further discrimination claims to be filed, investigated, and remedied.\u201d the senators said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7257986\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"34\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7257986\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7257986 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1327856737-scaled.jpg\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1327856737-scaled.jpg 8192w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1327856737-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1327856737-620x414-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1327856737-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1327856737-1536x1025-1.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 8192px) 100vw, 8192px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7257986\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 JULY 09: U.S. President Joe Biden signs executive order. (Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn a pluralistic society, laws that allow people to live by their conscience should not even be necessary,\u201d they continued. \u201cNevertheless, due to the coercive actions of employers like UVMMC and the hostility toward religious and moral convictions shown by your agencies in this case, the importance of these laws is plainly demonstrated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The senators reminded Becerra that he promised earlier this year that HHS would&nbsp;\u201ccontinue to provide protections for the civil constitutional rights of all Americans, including those that involve religion,\u201d and follow the law as it relates to abortion, religious liberties, and conscience protections. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/10\/biden-trump-policy-sex-sexual-orientation-transgender\/?tpcc%3D=newsletter\">(RELATED: \u2018Total Nightmare\u2019: Biden Policy Redefining Sex Puts Doctors At Risk, American Principles Project President Says)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHHS\u2019s actions in this case directly contradict those assurances,\u201d the senators said. \u201cMoreover, they call into question your honesty before Congress and willingness to enforce the law in all other matters. We will continue to monitor the actions of both HHS and DOJ to ensure that the laws as enacted by Congress are fully enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UVMMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated federal conscience-protection laws when they told the Department Of Justice to drop a lawsuit against a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-634085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}