SB 1564, which amends the Medical Right of Conscience law, will force medical personnel to refer or participate or assist with medical procedures against their religious objections. Some of the difficulties caused by the legislation are:
It requires pro-life doctors who refuse to do abortions to discuss the “benefits” of abortion with their patients.
It requires pro-life doctors who refuse to do abortions to either refer patients to where they can get abortions or give the patients written information “about other health care providers who they reasonably believe may offer the services”.
It would require women’s resource centers (crisis pregnancy centers) that help women with alternatives to abortion to discuss “benefits” of abortion and refer or assist women in getting abortions against the center’s core mission.
In the House Human Services Committee, a woman from one of the Crisis Pregnancy Centers testified that this legislation would cause them to close down their center because it would cause them to violate their mission statement.
This legislation would require them to transfer, refer, or give their clients a list of places they believe would perform abortions. In good conscience, they would not be able to give their clients a list of places they believe would perform abortions, since that would violate their mission.
The Catholic Conference and the Medical Society agreed to go neutral on the bill with compromise language in it. While that may take care of concerns by the Medical Society and ways the Catholic Hospitals can deal with these issues, it still causes additional problems for many Christian doctors and for Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
The statement from the Respect Life Coordinator in Crest Hill sums it up:
“The negotiations…seem to be the best that can be obtained in the current political climate. The initial proposed legislation, that was sure to pass, would have gutted the conscience protection. Therefore, after negotiations and changes to the bill were made, a neutral position has been assumed. The neutral position does not indicate support for the bill. We cannot support it. The law being considered is not morally acceptable and it is illogical. It is illogical to claim that one does not have to be involved in immoral services and at the same time demand that they supply a list of providers that may provide those same services.”
Please contact your state representative and ask him or her to vote NO on SB 1564.