Tepeyac Physicians Write on Conscience Protection
At the request of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the five full-time physicians at Tepeyac Family Center responded to his call for comments on proposed regulations which would protect the rights of health care workers to serve the public without compromising their own religious or moral beliefs. There are additional comments by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the American Pro-Life OB-GYNS, and the Catholic Medical Association.
September 19, 2008
Office of Public Health and Science
Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: Brenda Destro
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 728E
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Ms. Destro:
The undersigned members of the staff of Tepeyac Family Center, LLC, a pro-life, non-profit OB-GYN practice located in Fairfax, VA, are offering the following comments on the proposed rule to protect the conscience rights of health care professionals and institutions 73 Fed. Reg. 50274 (Aug. 26, 2008).
Tepeyac Family Center, LLC, is a disregarded entity of Divine Mercy Care, a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia to promote Catholic health care in Northern Virginia.
The undersigned members of the staff of the Tepeyac Family Center write in support of the proposed regulations guaranteeing the freedom of health care providers to serve the public without violating their religious and moral convictions. We strongly believe that the publication of these regulations in their current form will provide accessible health care to those individuals who desire to be treated by physicians having their own values. We believe that in the area of abortion, sterilization for birth control purposes, and end-of-life issues these believes provide the patient with a trust that the physician or health care provider will “do no harm!”
We thank you for taking the necessary steps to uphold the freedom of conscience for heath care professionals in your own letter of June 20, 2008 to The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). We comprises a practice of 5 board certified OB-GYNS who offer a prolife-based approach to women’s healthcare. Our interest and stake in protecting the right of conscience for doctors and other healthcare professionals is imperative for many of the patients who come to our practice. These patients desire a quality of health care which respects the dignity of each individual from the moment of conception until natural death. As such we are an important part of the spectrum of OBGYN practices in this multicultural and diverse country. We are concrete evidence that even though the leadership of our professional societies (ACOG and AMA) are by a large majority made up of physicians do not believe in the dignity of these individuals from the moment of conception to natural death, these same societies have the obligation to provide access to quality medical care for the 50% segment of the population who have such beliefs.
There are many reasons that freedom of conscience is crucial to the practice of medicine:
1. There is a trust established in the patient-doctor relationship. Such trust involves both the patient and the physician…a trust which is based on established moral beliefs. The patients desire to trust that their doctor has the same values and will help them make decisions within a similar moral frame of reference. This is especially important in beginning of life and end of life issues. We have many examples within our practice of patients who feared that during a previous delivery in a previous medical practice, their doctor would do a tubal ligation at their Cesarean Section because the physician disapproved of their choice of a large family and/or multiple Cesarean Sections.
There have been many instances of patients coming to our practice after being counseled for an abortion without being given another option. Many have been ridiculed by their Board Certified OB-GYN for their choice to practice Natural Family Planning or to remain abstinent until marriage. For physicians who subscribe to a different code of moral behavior, it is often not possible for them to be tolerant of their patients values and desires, thus decreasing access to adequate health care for a large segment of our population.
Over and over we hear, “I am so thankful that you are here!” If all OB-GYN’s subscribed to abortion on demand, sexual sterilization for more than two children, and second trimester inductions for mothers pregnant with sick babies, those women who respect the life of their child would have no choice in their maternity care. Who will be there for these patients?
2. Each of us at Tepeyac Family Center believes that life begins at conception and continues until natural death and these beliefs are an inherent part of our being. Such beliefs are also carried out in our day to day practice of medicine where we see the poor, practice excellent medicine, and are faithful to the moral teachings of our Church. These beliefs allow us to practice medicine in a way which respects the dignity of each person. Requiring us to practice contrary to our beliefs takes away our choice in living out our profession.
3. Our clinic serves the underserved and others without regard for race, religion, financial status, or lifestyle. We also serve a growing population of women who want a doctor who is prolife. We have women who travel from Richmond and Fredericksburg, VA; from Annapolis and Baltimore, MD; from Harrisburg, PA; and from eastern West Virginia because there is no pro-life OB-GYN near them. Traveling long distances to have access to a pro-life physician is a necessary sacrifice these women make so that they can have a choice in health care.
4. We have a large number of women who come to our practice because they have been traumatized and psychologically and physically harmed by contraceptive birth control, sterilization, and abortion. They now want an approach to reproductive healthcare which respects their dignity as women. They realized that the initial choices that they made had devastating consequences to their well-being. Having access to Tepeyac Family Center physicians affords them a choice in our quality of health care.
We are successful in our practice of medicine because each night we can go home knowing that our practice of medicine truly provided a quality of health care which neither compromised our own values, nor the values of our patients. If health care is to be available for all, then health care most be present for those who choose to live a life which models that of Jesus Christ in the gospel. Your regulations allow for that choice to be made.
There is a serious lack of access to physicians who are willing to provide care to women who may want more than 1.8 children, who do not choose to eliminate their Down’s syndrome child, or those who may have complicated pregnancies and have been told that they should never get pregnant again. Tolerance and freedom of conscience cut both ways and may at times inconvenience all of us, but the alternative is a move toward a totalitarian state where freedom of religion is acceptable only as long as you are not prolife and want to practice OB-GYN. That is not freedom!
So, we affirm the proposed regulations protecting the conscience rights of doctors and all healthcare professionals. This bolstering and clarification of the Church and Weldon amendments will be of great value to us as we continue to provide access to excellent medicine in a prolife context to our patients.
Sincerely,
John T. Bruchalski MD, FACOG, Founder
Daniel Fisk, MD, FACOG
Marie Anderson, MD, FACOG, Medical Director
Lorna Cvetkovich MD, FACOG
Miriam Periera, MD