On the recordSeptember 25, 2002
I believe very strongly all we are trying to do in this bill is to just clarify the intent of the Congress 6 years ago when it originally passed this conscience clause language, and it is the left, it is the pro-abortion left that is trying to do an end run through the courts around this. Now, this motion to recommit is a classic gutting motion to recommit. It invalidates the entire intent of the bill. It has language that says the statute shall not be construed as authorizing any institution to withhold medically appropriate information or services from a patient. So in other words, we are back to square one. The original intent of the law was it covered hospitals because it referred to them as health care entities, and now we have the courts arguing that hospitals are somehow not health care entities, and they should have to provide these services or referrals.
Source
govinfo.gov
