By Sen. Stephen Meredith: This bill provides religious liberty and conscience protections for medical professionals regarding controversial medical technologies and practices. Many medical professionals do not want to be forced to participate in certain controversial technologies and treatments such as cloning, gene editing, assisted suicide, surgical and hormonal procedures to attempt to change children’s biological sex, and various reproductive technologies. By providing conscience protections this bill would ensure that Kentucky does not lose well-trained medical professionals because of a growing intolerance of reasonable differences in professional ethics and opinions.
Advocates say: Abortion, the surgery that removes a patient’s genitalia because they have gender confusion, or prematurely ending a patient’s life (physician assisted suicide) are not things that medical professionals should be forced to participate in or lose their jobs. Just because a treatment is possible or just because patients demand a treatment does not necessarily mean every professional should be forced to provide it.
Opponents say: This bill is about continuing to let religious people discriminate against people they don’t like. Women will be denied reproductive freedom. “Trans” people will feel shamed and not be able to get the care they want. Hospitals shouldn’t have to protect people who discriminate. If a medical professional doesn’t agree with what is happening in medicine they can leave the medical profession.
Prospect of Passage: This is a practical bill protecting medical professionals from forced participation in acts they deem wrongful. It will need calls to pass.
