Healthcare employees who object to providing patient care for women seeking an abortion have long presented a thorny issue for healthcare employers. A recent settlement in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey is a reminder that this issue continues to raise tricky questions. Nonetheless, a careful employer can successfully navigate these issues and avoid common pit-falls.

Hospitals that receive federal funds are prohibited from requiring employees to participate in abortions if it “would be contrary to [their] religious beliefs or moral convictions.” 42 U.S.C. § 300a-7. In Danquah v. University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), a group of nurses sought to enforce this prohibition through an injunction after UMDNJ changed its policies in September 2011, requiring all nurses to assist in termination-of-pregnancy procedures. The parties entered into a settlement that allows the objecting nurses to refrain from participating in non-emergency care of patients seeking or obtaining an abortion. While all hospitals and medical facilities that receive federal funds through the Public Health Service Act, the Community Mental Health Services Act, or the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facility Act should be mindful of this prohibition, medical providers that do not receive federal funds should also beware of potential pit-falls when an employee objects to participating in abortion-related medical care.