Last Friday, March 1, the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on LB 564, the Health Care Freedom of Conscience Act. Introduced by Sen. John Nelson (Omaha), this bill would protect health care providers and facilities from being forced to engage in any health care function that violates their religious, moral or ethical principles.
Protection of this basic right has become more urgent in recent years as individuals and institutions, particularly in the healing profession, are increasingly subjected to pressure, or risk being pressured, to participate in conduct which violates their religious, moral or ethical principles.
Although Nebraska law provides some conscience protections in the abortion context there is need for broader protections within and outside that context. This need is demonstrated in part by a growing hostility on the part of some professional organizations, advocacy groups, and state and federal government to the right of conscience in health care. For example:
- In November 2007, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an opinion (Committee Opinion No. 385) asserting that it is unethical for obstetricians-gynecologists to decline to provide or refer for abortion or sterilization.
- The American Civil Liberties Union has developed a report and advocacy kit aimed at requiring all hospitals, including those with a conscientious objection, to provide abortions. The report argues that the "law should not permit an institution’s religious strictures to interfere with the public’s access to reproductive health care."
- NARAL Pro-Choice America claims that conscience clauses, which it and other advocacy groups pejoratively label "refusal clauses," are "dangerous for women’s health." Apparently the old pro-choice motto, "if you don’t like abortion, don’t have one" has changed to "if you don’t like abortion, too bad. Facilitate it or get out of the health care profession."
Concerns about conscience violations are not limited to the practice of abortion. At least a couple of states tried to force pharmacists/pharmacies to stock and dispense abortifacient contraceptives and several chain pharmacies fired pharmacists for refusing to dispense, sell or stock, emergency contraceptives.
Furthermore, Catholic counselors/psychologists are increasingly under pressure to provide or refer for morally objectionable counseling or risk losing their licenses to practice their profession.
Admittedly, providing conscience protection for health care providers and facilities does involve some balancing of other important interests such as patient care and employment accommodations and legalities. Significant efforts were made by proponents of LB 564 to balance these interests which ultimately resulted in the Nebraska Medical Association supporting an amended version of the bill.
Unfortunately, these accommodations were insufficient for some other health care groups (e.g. psychologists, hospital association, hospice/palliative care association, etc.) which testified against the bill. And several members of the Judiciary Committee (Senators Steve Lathrop, Brad Ashford, Amanda McGill and Ernie Chambers) also expressed strong reservations about the bill.
Proponents of LB 564 (myself included) will work tirelessly to address legitimate concerns with the current version of the bill and to enact legislation that provides meaningful conscience protection to health care providers and facilities. As our nation’s founders acknowledged, there is no more fundamental principle of our society than freedom of conscience.
"The conscientious scruples of all men should be treated with great delicacy and tenderness," George Washington said. "And it is my wish and desire, that the laws may always be extensively accommodated to them." Thomas Jefferson wrote, "No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority."
Our own Nebraska Constitution states in Article I, Sec. 4 that no "interference with the rights of conscience [shall] be permitted." It remains to be seen how committed our state legislators are to upholding this Constitutional right for health care providers and facilities. Please pray for our efforts to enact conscience protection legislation and urge your senator to support it.
You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
