Testimony of Clyde R. Meckel, MD |
Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of LB564- the Health Care Freedom of Conscience Act. The purpose of this bill is to respect and protect the fundamental right of conscience of licensed individuals who provide health care. This is a critical matter of protecting one of our most fundamental liberties.
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Category: Law
Twin protection of conscience bills introduced in Tennessee
Senate Bill 514 and House Bill 1185, identical bills that have been introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly, provide protection for students in post-secondary psychology, social work or counselling programmes who, by reason of religious beliefs, are unable to provide a client with the kind of counselling or therapy being sought. The bills require objecting students to refer clients to another counsellor.
U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Bill
Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies (2013)
An appropriations bill authorizes funding for federal departments of the U.S. government. Since the departments require funds to operate, one method of securing statutory support for freedom of conscience is to attach conditions to an appropriations bill. That is the purpose of Sections 537 and 538.
New York Hospital Agrees to Respect Rights of Pro-Life Nurses
The Foundry
Mount Sinai Hospital in New York has agreed to additional policy and procedure changes to protect the conscience rights of pro-life nurses and other employees as a result of a federal investigation.
In 2009, the hospital allegedly forced a Catholic pro-life nurse to assist in an abortion in violation of the nurse’s religious beliefs. Read more . . .
Letter from Archbishop to Congress seeks support for freedom of conscience
Writing on behalf of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, Archbishop William E. Lori has asked Congress to pass measures in an appropriations bill. One “clarifies current nondiscrimination laws to improve protection of individuals and institutions that decline involvement in abortion, allowing the victims of discrimination to vindicate their rights in court.” The other merges the Hyde/Weldon amendment with a 1996 law that prevents people from being forced to participate in abortion training.
“We assume no one in Congress opposes the idea that people whose civil rights have been violated have a right to go to court. So this provision should be accepted without serious controversy,” [Text of letter]