Monday, January 25, 2010

A Bill to Watch

SB-1270, popularly known as the "freedom of conscience" bill, was introduced in the Idaho Senate on Friday.  Its co-sponsors are: Sen. Chuck Winder; Sen. Leland Heinrich; Sen. Russell Fulcher; Rep. Thomas Loertscher; Rep. Erik Simpson; Rep. Raul Labrador; Rep. Joe Palmer; and Rep. James Ruchti. 

The bill would create a new section in Title 18, Idaho's criminal code, immunizing from liability health care professionals who refuse to engage in specified activities that violate their consciences.  It went to the Senate State Affairs Committee today.  This is the text of the bill:

AN ACT RELATING TO ABORTION AND CONTRACEPTIVES; AMENDING CHAPTER 6, TITLE 18, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 18-611, IDAHO CODE, TO DEFINE TERMS, TO PROVIDE FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, TO PROVIDE IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY, TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION AND TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION; AND PROVIDING SEVERABILITY.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
SECTION 1. That Chapter 6, Title 18, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and designated as Section 18-611, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
18-611. FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. (1) As used in this section:
(a) "Conscience" means the religious, moral or ethical principles sincerely held by any person.
(b) "Health care professional" means any person licensed, certified or registered by the state of Idaho to deliver health care.
(c) "Health care service" means an abortion, dispensation of an abortifacient drug or drugs that may act as abortifacients, human embryonic stem cell research, human embryo cloning, euthanasia or assisted suicide.
(d) "Provide" means to counsel, advise, perform, dispense, assist in or refer for any health care service.
(2) No health care professional shall be required to provide any health care service that violates his or her conscience.
(3) Employers of health care professionals shall reasonably accommodate the conscience rights of their employees as provided in this section, upon written notification by the employee. Such notice shall suffice without specification of the reason therefor.
(4) No health care professional or employer of the health care professional shall be civilly, criminally or administratively liable for the health care professional declining to provide health care services that violate his or her conscience.
(5) It shall be unlawful to discriminate against any health care professional based upon his or her declining to provide a health care service that violates his or her conscience, unless the accommodation of a health care professional’s conscience rights creates an undue hardship on the employer. If an employer determines that an undue hardship is created, the employer shall make an effort to work with the affected health care professional to find a reasonable accommodation of the health care professional’s conscience rights.
(6) The provisions of this section do not allow a health care professional or employer of the health care professional to refuse to provide health care services because of the patient’s race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or national origin.
(7) Nothing in this section shall affect the rights of conscience provided for in section 18-612, Idaho Code [refusal to perform abortions], to the extent that those rights are broader in scope than those provided for in this section.
SECTION 2. The provisions of this act are hereby declared to be severable and if any provision of this act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this act.

This bill is by no means perfect.  I, for one, regret that the bill dignifies abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and physician-assisted suicide with the title of "health care services": words shape thoughts, and rhetorical concessions, regardless of their political expediency, have consequences.  Also, the bill does not go far enough.  There is no protection for health care professionals who refuse in conscience to provide other services the Church teaches are morally reprehensible, such as artificial insemination and fertilization procedures and artificial contraceptives.  Could this conspicuous omission be the result of the indifference of too many Catholics to the Church's firmly-held teachings on these subjects?  There is no doubt that for decades, we Catholics have been lying down on the job.

Despite these flaws in SB-1270, it is still a step in the right direction.  Let it be the first of many steps in the right direction. 

5 comments:

  1. Few things are as abhorrent to me than the term "health care" as applied to abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cells, etc.

    Best line in your post: "...words shape thoughts, and rhetorical concessions, regardless of their political expediency, have consequences."

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  2. Thanks, TH2. I hope Life wins this legislative session. I understand that the opposition is gearing up against this bill. The forces of death are alive and well in this state.

    Last year we had a death panel bill in the legislature that mercifully didn't make it into law, but I think we need to not relax our vigilance on that. It would have provided for a doctor to be able to decide that medical treatment was futile or "medically inappropriate," and take his decision to an "ethics committee" whose deliberations the patient would be barred from attending. If the committee agreed with the doc, then the patient would have 15 days to clear out of the facility. This bill, if memory serves, was supported by the leading Catholic medical center in the state.

    Oh, and the death panel would have the power to overrule advance health care directives and/or the on-the-spot wishes of the patient or his representative.

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  3. Thank you for providing an addendum to the post. Please keep us apprised of the ongoings... if you so desire.

    By the way... a day or so ago I took some time and went through your blog and read a bunch of your older posts. Extremely impressive writing. I love your hard hitting, legalistic writing style. So "up front", so clear, so much definiteness, and also so much devotion to Our Lord. I was also glad to see that you had an article in Homiletic & Pastoral Review. I just may look it up and read some time. Considering the abovementioned, have you seriously thought of compiling a suite of your writings (e.g. essays), or whatever you prefer, and submit to a book publisher. Seriously, you should consider.

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  4. Why thank you, TH2. I do indeed hope to publish more of my stuff.

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