Federal health officials announced on Thursday plans to implement a regulation, which would give doctors, nurses and other health-care workers the possibility to refuse abortions or certain other health care services on personal, moral, or religious grounds.

“People should not be forced to say or do things they believe are morally wrong. Health-care workers should not be forced to provide services that violate their own conscience,” Health and Human Services secretary Mike Leavitt said.

He also added that the rule would not interfere with patients’ ability to get birth control or any legal medical procedure. Patients could go to another health care provider if refused in the first place.

The regulation will be subjected to a 30-day public comment period after which the Bush administration could implement a final rule.

The rule, if adopted, would apply only to institutions receiving money from the government. Moreover, the rule gives federal officials the power to pull funding from over 584,000 hospitals, clinics, health plans, doctors’ offices and other health care entities if they refuse any of their personnel’s right to deny participation in abortions.

Abortion rights supporters said they intend to challenge the Bush administration because they fear the rule could stretch the definition of abortion to include birth control.

“Women’s ability to manage their own health care is at risk of being compromised by politics and ideology,” Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said in a statement.

The rule "fails to give assurances that current laws about abortion will not be stretched to cover birth control," Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, agreed.