Written by Alex Acquisto of the Herald-Leader
A bill that would broadly protect medical professionals from penalty for declining to perform procedures that violate their conscience, such as abortions, won support from a Senate committee Thursday.
Opponents said the bill is dangerously nebulous and could lead to denial of critical health care for LGBTQ individuals and others.
Senate Bill 90 from Sen. Steve Meredith, R-Leitchfield, would create a “conscience” exemption for health care providers, allowing anyone who holds a “religious, moral, ethical or philosophical” belief from opting out of administering care without retribution and limit one’s liability for making decisions on those bases.
It’s unclear what type of care, specifically, Meredith is seeking to address with his bill language, in part because the applicability of the measure is so sweeping — a point some committee members and opponents criticized on Thursday.
Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, who voted against the bill, said she has “serious concerns” with how the bill could be applied, suggesting that it gives “criminal shielding for omission of medical care.”
(Cross-posted via the Kentucky Press News Service. Read the rest of the article at the Herald-Leader.)
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