Religious Refusal to Provide Medical Care Act

Official Title: Defense of Conscience in Healthcare Act (S. 47)

Introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) 

This bill directs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue a final rule that is identical or equivalent to the first Trump administration’s rule titled Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority, which was scheduled to take effect on July 22, 2019, but was vacated by courts.

Prioritizing health care providers’ personal beliefs over patients’ health

• This bill is part of a coordinated effort to allow medical providers to legally discriminate and deny needed care. It would result in restricted access to a wide range of reproductive health care, including life-saving emergency care.
• We agree that religious freedom is a core constitutional right, but it does not give people the right to impose their beliefs on others or to discriminate. This bill misuses religious exemptions to allow or even encourage health care providers to refuse treatment and choose which patients they wish to serve and will result in broad and dangerous harms.  

Harming vulnerable communities

• Permitting refusals of care for sexual health, including sexually-transmitted infection and HIV-related health care.
• Refusing health care for patients because of who they are, including women, transgender people, LGBTQ+ people, and children of LGBTQ+ parents.
• Allowing healthcare providers to limit information shared with patients.