Shurtleff is the only Republican signatory on a letter sent to the Health and Human Services Department as part of the comment period on the proposed rule, which closed Thursday.

He was joined by 12 Democrats.

They called on HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt to "withdraw" the proposal, saying: "The proposed regulation completely obliterates the rights of patients to legal and medically necessary health care services in favor of a single-minded focus on protecting a health care provider's right to claim a personal moral or religious belief."

Leavitt, a former Utah Republican governor, said the regulation only bolsters the enforcement of existing laws by threatening to withhold federal money from any health care organization that punishes an employee who objects to a procedure on moral grounds.

Organizations would have to sign a pledge to follow the laws and the HHS office of civil rights would actively investigate complaints.

"Is the fear here that so many doctors will refuse that it will somehow make it difficult for a woman to get an abortion? That hasn't happened, but what if it did? Wouldn't that be an important and legitimate social statement?" Leavitt wrote on his government blog, explaining the proposed regulation.

Shurtleff said he opposes any retaliation against health care workers who are against abortion, but he said the proposed regulation "would violate states rights to authorize emergency contraceptives to rape victims."

"The letter simply asked Secretary Leavitt to rewrite the rules to be less ambiguous," Shurtleff said.

But the text of the letter says nothing about rewriting the proposal; it's stronger than that.

"We urge the HHS to adhere to a basic medical tenet - first, do no harm to the patient - and withdraw the proposed regulation," reads the letter, signed by the attorneys general from states including Connecticut, Montana and Arizona.

The letter said the proposed regulation would stop organizations such as Planned Parenthood from hiring only doctors who are willing to perform procedures such as abortion, while religious hospitals would be unable to stop physicians from taking actions that may violate their beliefs.

The comment is one of thousands HHS has received on the controversial proposal. The department will now read and respond to the concerns and suggestions of the public before making a final determination on the rule.

mcanham@sltrib.com