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La. Legislature Approves Provider 'Conscience' Bill; Gov. Expected To Sign Measure
The Louisiana House on Tuesday voted 88-12 in favor of a bill (H.B. 517) that would expand the ability of health care workers to refuse to participate in certain services based on moral or religious beliefs, the AP/USA Today reports. The bill now goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), who is expected to sign it.The bill would shield health workers from civil and criminal penalties, job loss or demotion if they refuse to provide certain services based on moral objections or religious beliefs. According to the AP/USA Today, these services could include "abortion, certain types of emergency contraception, human embryonic stem cell research, human embryo cloning, euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide." Opposition to the bill lessened with the addition of certain amendments, including a provision that would require health providers to notify their employers in writing of any procedures or services to which they would object. Another amendment would require facilities to ensure that adequate staff is available to provide services and information that would be refused (Deslatte, AP/USA Today, 6/24).The conservative Louisiana Family Forum advocated for the bill. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union opposed it, arguing that patients would be denied access to services and information (Barrow, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 6/23).

FBI Should Probe Whether 'Systemic Problems' Led To 'Gaps' In Tiller Murder Case, NYT Editorial States
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Congress "should review the killing" of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller "to determine whether there are systemic problems that led to apparent gaps in the FBI"s performance in the case," a New York Times editorial states. According to the Times, Holder "took the prudent step of ordering" the U.S. Marshals Service to "provide security for certain abortion clinics and physicians thought to be at heightened risk," but the government"s response "must not end there."The editorial states that Scott Roeder, the man accused of killing Tiller, has a history of activity related to the antiabortion-rights movement that "should have sparked greater concern" with the FBI, including being suspected in 2000 of "repeatedly gluing shut the doors of an abortion clinic in Kansas City, Kan. -- a federal crime under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances law." Roeder also was found in possession of "gunpowder and a fuse" when stopped for a traffic violation in 1996, according to the Times. The editorial states, "In the past, Tiller was shot in both arms, and his clinic was bombed and vandalized," but "it seems as if the federal authorities failed to increase security for Dr. Tiller and his offices."The editorial continues, "An armed criminal bent on murder is hard to stop, and we do not blame the FBI for Dr. Tiller"s death." However, "reproductive rights advocates say enforcement of the clinic protection law waned in the Bush years," the editorial says, concluding that Holder "should make sure there is no underlying problem that inhibits efforts to combat intimidation and violence against the dwindling number of legal abortion providers -- and women they help" (New York Times, 6/8).
News of the day
The London Clinic Of Psychoanalysis
2010 marks the centenary of the International Psychoanalytical Association, the worldwide accrediting and regulatory body for psychoanalysis which was founded by Sigmund Freud and colleagues in 1910. Freud also established a number of free clinics in Europe, and one of those still in operation today is the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis.
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Schumer Preparing Strong Public Plan Option

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the key Senate Finance Committee and advocate for a government-run health insurance plan, said yesterday he would abandon all other possible compromises in favor of immediately creating a public plan that "would operate on "a level playing field" with private insurers," CongressDaily reports. Other proposals have included a plan that would establish health insurance co-ops with government seed money or "trigger" the creation of a public plan only if private insurers fail to meet certain targets for containing costs and improving access. Schumer"s office said he was preparing an amendment to the Finance Committee"s bill, which is expected as early as next week, suggesting that the bill will include one of the other alternatives designed to seek bipartisan compromise. "Schumer"s announcement is a potential blow to bipartisan efforts on the Finance Committee, where some Republicans prefer, if not fully support, the co-op proposal," CongressDaily reports (Edney, 7/1). It"s not just Republicans who may be unsettled by the push for the public plan. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., a four-term senator who caucuses with the Democrats, told home- state reporters this week, "If we create a public option, the public is going to end up paying for it. That"s a cost we can"t take on," the New Haven Independent reports (Bass, 7/1). Some liberal Democrats are also troubled - that the talked-about public plan compromises, including Schumer"s, are too weak. "We haven"t yet applied enough pressure to get done what has to be done," David Himmelstein, a single-payer advocate and cofounder of Physicians for a National Health Program, told the Christian Science Monitor. Single-payer reform has not gained traction in either the House or Senate, but some liberal congressmen have stated that it is their preference. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., for instance, introduced a bill to create one such plan (Francis, 6/1). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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