I am a retired hospice and palliative care chaplain with nearly 35 years of the direct care experience with dying persons and their loved ones. In my ministry I have adhered to a common code of ethics that affirms the dignity and value of every individual. In practice this means that I must respect the cultural and religious values of those I serve, refrain from imposing my own values and beliefs on those served, be aware of the imbalance of power in the professional/client relationship, and refrain from exploitation of that imbalance by any form of coercion. As our Common Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals affirms, "When Spiritual Care Professionals behave in a manner congruent with the values of this code of ethics, they bring greater justice, compassion and healing to our world."

I was pleased and relieved to learn on Sunday that the Trump administration's Health and Human Services department has agreed to postpone implementing, for now, the new, expanded rule, Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care. This rule, if implemented, could allow medical workers to decline to participate in providing abortions, sterilization, medical aid in dying and/or other medical treatments on moral and/or religious grounds. This so-called "conscience rule" is being challenged in a California court.

Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals have long followed codes of ethics that permit them to refrain from providing care according to the dictates of their conscience with the stipulation that their professional duty includes referral and/or transfer of care. These codes are important and are not in dispute.

The new, expanded rule, however, goes much further. I fear that this rule could allow health care workers to ignore advance directives, withhold pain medication or refuse to provide necessary care. It also could financially penalize federally funded institutions that do not accommodate their employees' so-called rights to impose personally held beliefs and values on the patients they serve. It could even allow health care professionals to withhold basic information required for informed consent, a core medical ethics principle.

It is clear to me that the Trump administration's proposed new rule is not really intended to protect conscience or religious freedom. Instead, it is weaponizing religious beliefs by permitting those in positions of authority or power to impose their values and beliefs on vulnerable people who hold differing values and beliefs. I believe it is a cynical way of using religious liberty to block the access to and use of legal medical services from people who want or need those services. Sadly, too often they are the same people who have long been medically underserved.

The spirit of love at the core of all religions is perverted by this expanded rule. I call on all people of faith, especially religious leaders, to stand up for religious freedom by speaking out against the new Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care rule.

The Rev. Edward J. Holland, of Shoreview, is a retired United Methodist minister and board-certified chaplain.