Sen. Donald Douglas, a Republican from Nicholasville, presents his bill allowing health care providers to deny services that don't follow their conscience in a Kentucky Senate committee. (David Hargis / LRC)Health care providers would be allowed to refuse any non-emergency service that violates thei r conscience, defined as a person or institution’s “sincerely held religious, moral or ethical principles" under legislation that passed the Kentucky Senate on Friday. It now heads to the state House.The bill would extend conscience protections to doctors, but also to other types of professionals and even to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care institutions. Senate Bill 72 would protect workers and institutions who deny care because of their conscience from criminal and civil liability, as well as certain professional sanctions.GOP Sen. Donald Douglas of Nicholasville, a doctor and SB 72’s lead sponsor, framed the legislation as a way to address physician shortages in Kentucky.“This bill truly takes away some of that concern from the employee, and it adds accountability on to the employer,” Douglas said. “Some health care providers may choose to accept the challenges to their beliefs, mostly out of fear: fear of losing their income, or fear of losing their positions or fear of losing their jobs.”Democrats said the bill would allow providers wide discretion to claim conscience-based exemptions from providing care for people they dislike or disagree with. When Sen. Reggie Thomas from Lexington asked Douglas if the bill could feasibly allow a person with sincerely held racist beliefs to deny care to a Black person, Douglas said he couldn’t accurately answer hypotheticals.“Hypothetical questions can only be given hypothetical answers, neither of which are deemed accurate,” Douglas said. “So if the point that we're trying to make is to inflame those who we’re trying to show, then you can do that.”Thomas deemed the response a “non-answer” and said it reflects the dangers of the bill.“This bill now opens the door to law protected discrimination. I can't go there,” Thomas said. “And I think it's important for us as a chamber to understand that if we vote for this bill, that's what we're voting for.”The legislation passed the Senate on partisan lines. An identical bill, also sponsored by Douglas, passed the Senate last year too, but did not gain traction in the House. Similar legislation has been filed before in the legislature in 2021 and 2020.Several GOP lawmakers contested the bill would not allow for discrimination against an individual, just a certain procedure they take issue with. It reads that the conscience-based objections are limited to “a particular health care service.” Health care services like abortion care, which is largely banned in Kentucky, and gender-affirming care for minors, also banned in Kentucky, are frequently cited.“If a hospital is doing something unethical and a doctor reports that they should be protected without question,” said GOP Sen. Danny Carroll of Paducah. “Should abortion be allowed in Kentucky and a doctor refuse to perform those — they shouldn't have to do that. They shouldn't be forced to participate in surgeries for sexual [re]assignment.”Health care providers have federal protections for coming forward about fraud and misconduct under the False Claims Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act. While Carroll said he would vote in favor of the bill, he also said he has concerns that the definition of “conscience” is too broad.The Kentucky Medical Association has not taken a position on the bill, according to Advocacy Director Cory Meadows. The American Medical Association’s code of ethics addresses the conscience issue for physicians, specifying that doctors must uphold the “ethical norms of their profession,” which include respecting a patient’s self-determination. It says that doctors must act according to their “well-considered, deeply held beliefs,” but within limits that respect civil liberties and don't discriminate against individuals.There’s a national, right-wing push to pass medical ‘conscience’ laws. A staff member with the influential Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom sat with Douglas in the committee hearing earlier this week in support of the bill.The executive director of the Family Foundation in Kentucky, a fundamentalist Christian advocacy group, applauded the passage of the bill, saying it keeps health care workers from having to “choose between their faith and their profession.”“Kentuckians deserve confidence in the healthcare system, and SB 72 protects the essential rights of conscience and free speech, so our medical professionals can serve the people of Kentucky,” David Walls said in a statement.Douglas says it also has the support of alternative conservative medical associations like the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and others. Several of the associations have been accused of spreading discredited medical theories like linking abortion to an increased risk of breast cancer and questioning the connection between HIV and AIDS.When the bill was in committee earlier this week, several health care providers, the ACLU of Kentucky and LGBTQ+ advocates testified in opposition.Jacks Gilles, a clinical psychologist in Louisville, told lawmakers he has served many patients who have faced significant barriers to health care because of prejudice and discrimination. Gilles said the Kentucky Psychological Association, of which he is a member, strongly opposes the legislation.“The harm goes deeper than an instance of denied or inadequate treatment. It elevates anxiety and avoidance of health care settings that can exacerbate illness and prevent life-saving treatment,” Gilles said. ...read more read less