The Protect Life Act - HR 358

Under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act[1] a doctor is ordered to perform an emergency life saving abortion or transfer the woman to someone who will.  Many Pro-life doctors consider this a violation of what their religious values teach.  Any abortion according to them is immoral, therefore when the only way to save the mother's life is an abortion, she is to die if this is God's will.  In this case practicing their religion means losing federal funds.

However the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358) is meant to change this reality.

‘(g) Nondiscrimination on Abortion-

‘(1) NONDISCRIMINATION- A Federal agency or program, and any State or local government that receives Federal financial assistance under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act), may not subject any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination, or require any health plan created or regulated under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) to subject any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination, on the basis that the health care entity refuses to--

‘(A) undergo training in the performance of induced abortions;

‘(B) require or provide such training;


‘(C) perform, participate in, provide coverage of, or pay for induced abortions; or


‘(D) provide referrals for such training or such abortions.[2]

 The odds of this ever happening are slim.  A woman has chosen to keep her pregnancy despite perhaps being warned of the risk to her own body.  She is transported to a Catholic Hospital or a hospital with a radically pro-life doctor.  This doctor practices a religion that will not let him perform the abortion even to save her life.  He also cannot tell her about a doctor who would perform the abortion, because his faith also prohibits this.  According to his faith, she should morally die instead get an immoral abortion.

One thing is missing: her choice.  The doctor believes the only moral option is for her to die.  What does she believe? What does her faith teach her?  Maybe regardless of her belief and faith, she just simply does not want to die.  A referral would give her options.  She would be able to choose her own medical care.  Perhaps like the doctor, she would rather die.  Then her choice would be her choice and not her doctor's.

There are many pro-life people that believe that abortion can be acceptable to save the life of the mother.  This is a tenant in most forms of Judaism.  Many practitioners hold that a fetus is potential life while a woman is a whole life.  A whole life always takes priority over a potential life.  Some pro-life Christians hold that you cannot force someone to sacrifice their life for another.  Some hold that the mother's life takes priority, because she is the producer of life.  If she lives, she can produce more children.

If a doctor allows a woman to die regardless of her faith, this offends not just pro-choice sensibilities, but some pro-life sensibilities as well.  Personally I do not think it is ethical to force a woman to die for her child.  This is a decision between her and God. It is fair for the government to require a doctor to refer the woman to life saving care.