They were fired for alleged errors on the job, company officials say. The workers claim they were targeted because of their complaint. The guidelines were drafted mainly by Steven McFarland of the Christian Legal Society and Marc Stern of the American Jewish Committee. Completed in January 1996, the document was sent to the White House three months later. Mr. McFarland and Mr. Stern, with support from a broad section of religious leadership, fought for reinstatement of much of the original language, and Mr. Clinton sided with them.
Approaches vary among the schools.
Many offer courses aimed at helping medical students understand the religious and ethical beliefs of patients and how to respond to them during treatment. Some look at how faith affects patients facing long-term illness, chronic pain, and death. At Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, students will be paired with terminally ill patients from the day of the diagnosis until the day of the funeral. It is headed by David Larson, a former researcher at the federal government's National Institutes of Health. The NIHR has been compiling and distributing a number of scientific studies that suggest religious faith and practice can help prevent illness as well as relieve pain and suffering in illness or death.