Health care providers and institutions could decline to participate in services that violate their conscience under a Republican-backed bill that’s on its way to the governor’s desk.
The bill (HF 571) defines conscience as ethical, moral or religious beliefs or principles held by a health care provider or institution. Under the bill, providers would have to tell their employer about the nature of their conscience-based objection.
Rep. Bill Gustoff, R-Des Moines, said it will help bring doctors to Iowa.
“The freedom to live and work consistent with one’s conscience is a powerful, even a primary motivator for many who enter the medical practice fields, among other fields,” Gustoff said. “This is an important right for the future of our medical professionals and recruiting them to practice in Iowa.”
Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, said medical providers already have protections for practicing in line with their religious beliefs, and the bill legalizes discrimination in health care.
“There is nothing in here that puts guardrails on what is ‘conscience’ and what is something else, what is just discrimination,” Baeth said.
The bill passed with a party-line vote of 63-27 and now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.