Perhaps the most villified US President since Abraham Lincoln, George Bush has been a strong pro-life President.
In the waning days of his administration he is doing what he can to protect pro-life doctors, nurses and health care workers from the next administration, by proposing the following rules:
“The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to “assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity” financed by the Department of Health and Human Services.”
The incoming Obama administration is upset. Good. Opponents of abortion have taken for granted having a firm friend in the White House. During the next administration, when the unborn will have a firm enemy in the White House, I, for one, will sorely miss George W. Bush.
A friend of mine was involved in developing those rules. He said Obama’s transition team (all former Clintonites) is already meeting and planning to ensure they don’t take effect. Change we can believe in.
I think Bush is genuinely concerned about the fate of the pro-life movement under Obama; obviously can’t sit well with him to have two of his pro-life policies undone by Obama’s executive order come January.
God bless him for doing what he is able in the interim.
As someone who’s been unenthusiastic about this presidency since around 2004, I will sorely miss him as well. It’s going to be a nasty, brutish four years, and no amount of kindly letters is going to change that.
The only problem is that I think it will be 8 years.
That is 8 years of Obama.