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The Obama administration has revised rules enacted by the Bush White House that allow health workers to opt out of providing medical services they find objectionable because of religious or personal grounds.

The new rules -- known as conscience protection rules-- are narrower and leave in place federal protections for workers who don't want to perform abortions or sterilizations. The new rules were first reported by The Washington Post.

In a statement, the Health and Human Services Department says the Obama administration "strongly supports provider conscience laws that protect and support the rights of health care providers, and also recognizes and supports the rights of patients."

The ACLU praised the Obama rules. Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, said the changes eliminate "the most egregious portions of the rule that endangered women's access to emergency care and reproductive health services."