Roger Severino, the Trump administration appointee who now leads the HHS civil rights office.
The Trump administration is poised to overhaul the HHS civil rights office as part of a broader plan to protect health workers who don’t want to perform abortions, treat transgender patients seeking to transition or provide other services for which they have religious or moral objections. This means that if passed, all medical personnel can effectively refuse a dying patient if they are LGBT, Muslim, Hindu, or wearing a turban.
Under a proposed Trump Administration’s rule — which has been closely guarded up until this point at HHS and is now under review by the White House — the civil rights office would be empowered to further shield all medical workers and punish organizations that don’t allow them to express their religious and moral objections, according to sources on and off the Hill. That would be a significant shift for the office, which currently focuses on enforcing federal civil rights and health care privacy laws.
Roger Severino [PHOTO], the Trump administration appointee who now leads the HHS civil rights office, has repeatedly stressed that strengthening conscience protections for health care workers is a top priority for his office. That’s alarmed advocates for LGBT patients, who say they’re already fighting to overcome stigmas and discrimination and who warn that the policy shift will only worsen their situation.
The DNC has already reacted via press release:
“Once again, women and the LGBTQ community are under attack from the Trump-Pence administration. Days before the anniversary of the Women’s March, Republicans are giving health workers a license to discriminate against women and members of the LGBTQ community.
“It wasn’t enough to try to strip transgender Americans of their right to serve, roll back access to birth control, and attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. Now Trump, Pence, and their Republican cronies want to allow healthcare workers to discriminate and rip away access to medical care. This rule is unethical and dangerously undermines public health.
“This proposal is further proof that Republicans continue to push forward an agenda completely out of step with the American people and American ideals. Democrats will continue to focus on how to improve access to health care for all Americans regardless of gender, orientation, or income.”
What Happened to First Do No Harm?
Physicians and other medical professionals are scrambling according to sources to determine what should they do depending upon how the final rules come into play. For thousands of years, healers of every discipline have treated all people, often even regardless of their ability to pay.
Now it would seem that The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also known as the Health Department, is a cabinet-level department of the U.S. federal government with the sole goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, may just become responsible for Americans being refused care based upon who they love. So much for the HHS motto which is “Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America”.
Weighing In On the New Ruling Being Proposed
Rev. Dr Mark Skovron, a nationally syndicated speaker, activist, journalist, entrepreneur, seminar leader and best-selling author, “What is particularly disturbing is how far in just one year this administration has gone to trample the rights and ignore the norms on which our very society is established. These acts will forever be included in the history books of all developed countries. This too will be how we are remembered.”
Skovron, PhD., continued, “When I was a young boy, I grew up proud to be an American, and being from the DC metro, went to school, played and made friends with children of all national origins, beautiful colours, different religions, and I am sure, many LGBT people. Many of them are friends today. What is happening now, reminds me of the very famous yet chilling verses in a poem written by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984):”
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
What Happened to Separation of Church and State?
Many journalists and sources are reporting that the very Consitution is being trampled upon by this flagrant abuse of power of which the circumstances could be devastating in terms of the very evolution of what America is becoming as well as the potential toll on human lives. If passed, it has been predicted a fast track to the Supreme Court of the United States.
“It occurs to me, that we have travelled very, very far, and in the wrong direction quickly as a nation. How can we continue to be seen as ‘America the shining city upon a hill’ that has been written about,” remarks Dr Skovron while wearing his baseball cap with the initials ACLU embroidered on the front. “Perhaps we would likely be a better world citizen if we were to remember the words of both John F. Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan repeating JFK’s quote.”
Rev. Dr Mark Skovron quipped, “Refusing to bake a wedding cake is one thing. But when an emergency room doctor can turn away a person having a heart attack, or even a child who has broken his or her arm because s/he is gay, or Muslim, or Hindu, or brown or black or wearing a turban, or kippa, we’ve clearly lost our way. The question becomes, have we gone too far to return to basic human kindness and decency. I don’t believe that most Americans want this kind of society. I still believe in the greatness of the majority of our people, and that kindness and compassion and common sense are their moral compass.”
Dr Skovron will be marching this Sunday, January 21st in the Women’s March in Phoenix, Arizona.
This story is quickly developing and however it is decided, is already certain to have far-reaching implications and perhaps even shape the way the rest of the global community looks to, or away, from the United States!
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