Editorial Criticizes Idaho Bill To Increase 'Conscience' Protections For Health Care Workers

"Last week, 21 Idaho senators injected themselves into private, painful decisions about conception, abortion and euthanasia" by advancing a bill (SB 1353) that would shield health care professionals from liability if they "decline to provide services that violate their conscience," an Idaho Statesman editorial states. Some of the senators who supported the bill "are usually the quickest to complain about government intrusion," but "at the behest of the antiabortion lobby, they tossed those concerns aside," the editorial says.

The bill -- sponsored by State Sen. Chuck Winder (R) -- "speaks innocuously, but misleadingly, about the 'freedom of conscience' of health care professionals," the editorial continues. In practice, it would "limit patients' freedoms to explore their legally and constitutionally protected options." According to the editorial, the bill purports to cover all "conscience" issues but the "laundry list" in the bill is limited to "emergency contraception, abortion, stem cell research and treatment, embryonic cloning and end-of-life care."

The bill's "most serious flaw" concerns the effects it will have on access to care, particularly in rural parts of Idaho, the editorial states. "The entire bill seems like a test case waiting to happen," the editorial says. It adds that the "potential litigants are virtually unlimited" and could include employees, patients and abortion-rights groups. After the Senate's approval of the measure, "Idaho is one step closer to helping out attorneys, at patients' expense," the editorial concludes (Idaho Statesman, 3/3).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.