I and others have written quite a bit about the proposed HHS rule on abortion and physician conscience, so I won’t rehash it all here. For background, check out these posts and the links therein, this post at OBOS, and RHRealityCheck’s extensive coverage.

Today, the issue gained additional coverage as MoveOn and Planned Parenthood delivered to HHS more than 325,000 names of those who signed a petition objecting to the proposed rule. I don’t know exactly how effective such a petition is, but I do find it impressive that so many names were gathered in less than a week. ABC News covered the story, and RHRealityCheck has a report from the event.

Prior to the petition, 57 healthcare organizations voiced their objections (including the AMA and ACOG) in a letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt, as have numerous members of congress.

325,000 Sign MoveOn Petition Objecting to Proposed HHS Rule