Executive Order restricts access to abortion, birth control

In an executive order last month, President George Bush executed a "rule change" on a Department of Health and Human Services proposal, which allows members of any health care entity to deny all involvement with abortion or sterilization if those procedures are against the religious or moral beliefs of the caregiver. This executive order is one that does not require congressional approval.

The rule is being billed as an extension of the freedom to religion and does not require caregivers to perform or provide facilities, personnel, or training for abortion and sterilization. Furthermore, the caregiver is not required to refer the patient to a caregiver who would be willing to provide them with those reproductive health services.

Ambiguous language and unclear definitions have caused serious alarm among many that birth control and other contraceptives could also come under the scope of this executive order, restricting access for untold numbers of women who rely on pharmacies to provide those services.

The DHHS definition of the term abortion is "any of the various procedures - including the prescription and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action - that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation." The language that is most questionable is the "before or after implantation" clause, which could potentially apply to both emergency contraception and hormonal contraception.

The rule change also allows a 30-day period for public comments before the rule is potentially put in to effect. So far, public response has been strong and heated.

On August 20, twenty-five activists joined Planned Parenthood to deliver a petition of 325,000 signatures to the department's headquarters opposing the change. Governor Blagojevich has also publicly contested the proposal saying that over 600,000 uninsured Illinois women rely on government and non-profit healthcare that is supported by the department's funds. Those women and others who cannot afford to travel to other health care facilities run the risk of being denied service.

In his letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, Blagojevich writes "As Governor, I have fought for the rights of women to have access to contraception and appropriate family planning choices equally… My goal then, and now, is to ensure that women have access to the healthcare they desire, when they need it."

For the opposition, a great concern is that this rule change further limits access to health services for those who already have the least amount of access. Moreover, the worry is that this rule change could make it very difficult to receive these services at all, since almost 600,000 American health care institutions will be affected by the change.

UIC students can find out more about the potential rule change this week by stopping by the main lobby of Student Center East, near Café Descartes, where Feminists United, a student organization on campus, will be collecting signatures. They will also be distributing information on the measure and what it means for you.