Federal health officials are accusing an academic medical centre in Vermont of violating the civil rights of a Catholic nurse by calling on her to assist with an abortion when she was on a list of staff who objected to participating in the procedure.The notice of violation, sent on Wednesday to the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMC), is the latest example of the Trump administration’s focus on protecting “religious freedom” – a core value for anti-abortion activists and other social conservatives who are key to the president’s political base.
