(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has given final approval to a bill that would let health care providers decline to participate in services that violate their ethical, moral or religious beliefs. Republican Representative Bill Gustoff of Des Moines says it’s one more step Iowa can take to recruit more medical professionals to the state.
“One in five medical students report choosing not to practice in certain fields due to hostility to their beliefs,” Gustoff said. “Nine out of 10 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who identify as religious or faith based say they’d rather stop practicing medicine rather than violate their ethical, moral or religious beliefs.” The initial “Medical Ethics Defense Act” passed the House a year ago, but Senators made a few adjustments before approving their own version earlier this month. Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, says 10 states already have similar laws.
“Sometimes the ‘group think,’ the consensus even among medical professionals may be wrong,” Taylor said. “…This is a patient-centered bill in addition to protecting health care providers from discrimination.”
The House voted along party lines yesterday (Monday) to approve the senate’s changes and send the bill to the governor. Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines who is a physician, says the bill is unnecessary because federal law has protected the conscience of medical providers since 1973.
“There is nothing in here that puts guardrails on what is conscience and what is something else,” Baeth said, “what is just discrimination.” Senator Matt Blake, a Democrat from Johnston, says single women who are pregnant have been denied medical care in other states with similar laws. “This is just expanding what is likely to be more status-based discrimination across this state,” Blake said.
The bill would let individual health care providers as well as clinics and hospitals refuse treatment on moral, religious or ethical grounds.
