Well, has now made clear it’s okay with taxpayer money supporting abortion as part of its health-care revolution. But they’re another abortion related amendment for the Senate to vote on yet – the Coburn conscience-clause amendment should have been a compliment to the Nelson-Hatch protection. Now it’s a secondary protection in a bill that violates the consciences of millions of Americans as is.

But it’s an important protection during a year when an operating-room nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo, despite known religious objections, was forced to work on an abortion of a 22-week-old unborn child, under threat of discipline and termination (that’s just one example).

Here’s the text of Coburn Amendment #2967, via his office:

Purpose: To ensure health care providers are not forced to participate in abortions or discriminated against because they choose not to do abortions.
On page 124, line 1 insert ‘‘OTHER’’ before ‘‘FEDERAL’’.
On page 124, line 4, insert ‘‘other’’ before ‘‘Federal’’.
On page 124, between lines 22 and 23, insert the following:
SEC. 1304. NONDISCRIMINATION ON ABORTION AND RESPECT FOR RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE.
(a) NONDISCRIMINATION.—A Federal agency or program, and any State or local government, or institutional health care entity that receives Federal financial assistance under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act), shall not—
(1) subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination; or
(2) require any health care entity that is established or regulated under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) to subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination,
on the basis that such health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘health care entity’’ includes an individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, a plan sponsor, a health insurance issuer, a qualified health plan or issuer offering such a plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services is designated to receive complaints of discrimination based on this section, and coordinate the investigation of such complaints.
Effect of Coburn Amendment on Reid Bill’s Language
[adds the word “other” to current Reid provisions]
(2) NO EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING ABORTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to have any effect on other Federal laws regarding—
(i) conscience protection;
(ii) willingness or refusal to provide abortion;
and
(iii) discrimination on the basis of the willingness or refusal to provide, pay for, cover, or refer for abortion or to provide or participate in training to provide abortion.
[inserts the following new section]
SEC. 1304. NONDISCRIMINATION ON ABORTION AND RESPECT FOR RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE.
(a) NONDISCRIMINATION.—A Federal agency or program, and any State or local government, or institutional health care entity that receives Federal financial assistance under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act), shall not—
(1) subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination; or
(2) require any health care entity that is established or regulated under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) to subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination,
on the basis that such health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘health care entity’’ includes an individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, a plan sponsor, a health insurance issuer, a qualified health plan or issuer offering such a plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services is designated to receive complaints of discrimination based on this section, and coordinate the investigation of such complaints.

Coburn’s office currently has no idea when the amendment might come up.

That said: Kill the bill.