Murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women, and rates of violence on reservations are around ten times higher than the national average. In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, but despite the enormity of this problem, the U.S. Department of Justice only logged 116 cases in their missing persons database. Because these high levels of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women are being systemically overlooked, there was a profound need for federal legislation to remedy this crisis. As a result, U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, cosponsored Savanna’s Act, which was recently passed to protect American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Federal Government’s Jurisdiction Over American Indians While American Indian reservations are considered sovereign states, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court grant the U.S. […]

The Introduction of the “Conscience Protection Rule” In early May, the Trump administration announced the finalization of a new “Conscience Protection Rule” to bolster protections for religious health care providers. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sought to strengthen the ability of health workers to deny care if certain procedures violated their moral or spiritual beliefs, including abortion, sex-reassignment surgery, sterilization, and physician-assisted suicide. Also known as the Final Rule, the “Conscience Protection Rule” strengthens existing laws including the Weldon amendment, the Church amendment, and the Coates/Snow amendment, which allow doctors, nurses, and other medical providers some freedom to opt out of procedures to which they object on religious or moral grounds. In support of the Rule, Roger Severino, Director of the HHS’s Office for Civil Rights, said, “This rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won’t be bullied out of the healthcare field because they decline […]