Friday brought heartening reports that President Obama will soon take action to rescind a disturbing "midnight regulation" imposed during the very last days of the Bush administration. The rule was ostensibly designed to protect medical staff from discrimination if they refused to participate in abortion or sterilization procedures. What it really did was allow extremist politics into a place they least belong: a medical exam room. The rule vastly expanded a medical staffer's opportunities to refuse abortion care or information. Its expansive abortion language could have included emergency contraception provided to rape victims, potentially undermining state laws in Minnesota and elsewhere requiring that rape victims have access to this care. Virtually all of the nation's leading medical organizations fought this rule. So did more than 100 members of Congress; 15 state attorneys general (including Minnesota's Lori Swanson) also raised objections. This newspaper wrote two editorials opposing it (click HERE and HERE to read). There were already tough, effective laws on the books to protect medical staffers from discrimination if they had moral qualms about providing certain kinds of medical care. The new rule was not needed and was just plain bad policy. According to the Associated Press, which quoted an unnamed source, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will post notice of its intentions next week. There will then be a 30-day period for the public to weigh in.