Pro-Life Nurses Group Urges Congress: Keep Abortion Out of Health Care
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 6, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A national organization for pro-life nurses is joining the chorus of voices urging members of Congress to keep abortion out of health care. The board of directors of the National Association of Pro-Life Nurses is unified in asking Congress to make sure abortion funding and insurance mandates are not included.
The NAPN includes nurses who are on the front lines of providing health care to millions of Americans.
Not only do they not want taxpayer-funded abortions, they are asking Congress to make sure they are not forced to participate in abortions, as happened to a New York nurse who recently filed a lawsuit.
Saying that the "proposed health care legislation affects those of us in the nursing profession directly" the National Association of Pro-life Nurses called on Congress to consider five points when adopting a restructuring plan.
"The bill must not include any mandate for abortion, abortion funding prohibitions must be included to reflect long standing bans in place, and state laws regulating abortion must be upheld," NAPN told LifeNews.com Thursday.
Concerning their involvement in the nursing profession, the group says there "must be protection of the conscience rights of health care workers, and any plan adopted must include full prenatal and delivery care for all pregnancies."
The pro-life nurses also told LifeNews.com that they are concerned about end-of-life issues.
"We are opposed to mandating end of life consultation for anyone regardless of age or condition because of the message it sends that they are no longer of value to society," they say. "Such consults place pressure on the individual or guardian to opt for requests for measures to end their lives."
"We believe those lives and all lives are valuable and to be respected and cared for to the best of our abilities," the nurses continue.
The pro-life nurses group says appropriate medical care and treatment must be provided "for any human being in need of care regardless of disability or level of function or dependence."
Doctors must do so, they say, in accordance with the 1999 Supreme Court decision in the Olmstead v. L. C. Decision.
Related web sites:
National Association of Pro-Life Nurses – https://www.nursesforlife.org
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