Idaho AG supports religious protections for health workers

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has signed a letter supporting President Donald Trump’s effort to protect the rights of health workers who object to participating in abortions and other procedures.

Wasden, a Republican, joined 16 other attorney generals in a March 27 letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

The letter states that Trump’s effort is important to obeying consciousness protections passed by Congress and restoring the rule of law to Washington D.C.

More than 40 complaints have been filed since Trump’s election, alleging violations of conscience and religious rights. An estimated 18 million people work in the nation’s health care system.

Critics say that’s a small number compared with the millions of health care workers. They worry that religion will become a pretext for discrimination.