Republican Bill Would Allow Doctors to Deny Care on Moral or Religious Grounds

The services that could be denied include medical procedures, testing, diagnosis, referral, dispensing medications, and therapy, among others. 

A bill that would allow providers and entities to discriminate in the provision of any healthcare service is rapidly moving through the Florida Legislature.  

SB 1580/HB 1403 would permit healthcare providers and payers to refuse to provide healthcare services based on their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.

If the legislation passes, doctors, nurses, pharmacies, hospitals, clinical lab personnel, mental health providers and medical transport services, among others, would have a state-sanctioned license to discriminate in the provision of any healthcare service to a patient on the basis of a “conscience-based objection” or a “sincerely held” personal belief.

These services include medical procedures, testing, diagnosis, referral, dispensing medications, and therapy, among others. 

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The bill filed by Republican state Rep. Joel Rudman also applies to “any other entity that pays for, or arranges for payment of, any health care service,” including health insurers, employers, and HMOs. 

In addition, the bill will also prevent employers from taking any punitive actions against any healthcare provider employee who refuses to provide medical services, as long as they claim their refusal is due to ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. 

“Shocking” Government Overreach 

Although the bill contains a narrow exception that supposedly prevents providers from refusing to provide care because of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” opponents of the legislation warn that the bill’s language could disproportionately affect LGBTQ people, minorities, and other marginalized communities among Florida’s roughly 22 million residents. 

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They argue the bill goes beyond just defending religious freedom, as supporters claim, because it applies not just to religious objections, but also to vaguely defined moral and ethical beliefs. 

Kara Gross, the ACLU of Florida’s senior policy counsel, called the measure “shocking in its breadth, vagueness, and government overreach into the private sector and regulated businesses.”

According to retired Florida Department of Health physician Paul Arons, the legislation erroneously places physicians’ religious and moral beliefs above public health. If passed, Arons said it could jeopardize a policy passed in 1989 requiring physicians to treat patients with HIV and AIDS.

SB 1580/HB 1403 could pass in their respective chambers as early as this week. The House and Senate would then likely go to conference to finalize one single bill to send to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.