Iowa Healthcare Moral Objections Bill: A Blessing or a Curse?

Republicans in the Iowa state legislature are all-in on a bill that would let healthcare providers, clinics, hospitals, and insurance companies deny medical care to patients when it conflicts with their moral and ethical values. The Medical Ethics Defense Act also extends providers’ free speech protections by limiting the ability of licensing boards to discipline constitutionally protected speech.

Nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals who’ve taken a stand on a patient-care service they find morally objectionable, and who now face a licensing board investigation and disciplinary proceedings, should call the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm. We’ll ensure your due process rights and help you make the most effective possible case. Call us at 888-535-3686 or send us a message online.

Politicized Medical Care Could Harm Patients

The political right has championed the Iowa bill, which was passed in the state’s House of Representatives and now makes its way through the Senate. For conservatives, the Medical Ethics Defense Act offers a layer of protection for providers who refuse to participate in care services like, for example, gender-affirming procedures or abortions.

• According to Greg Chafuen with Alliance Defending Freedom, other states with laws offering protections for medical providers who walk away from care services they object to on moral or ethical grounds are better able to attract and retain skilled workers who don’t want to have to choose between their conscience and their career.

The political left, conversely, points out that just as a conservative physician might refuse to treat gay men with HIV, a progressive one could likewise deny care to a measles patient who refused to be vaccinated. Democrats are also concerned that the bill lacks what’s called a “duty to refer” (that is, a duty to refer a patient to another provider for treatment). That means “there are no protections for patients” who’ve been refused care, says Dr. Kaaren Olesen.

• Also significant, argues Kyrstin Delagardelle of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, the bill contains an implicit bias against women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, since the types of care likely to invoke a moral or ethical concern are often connected to a patient’s sex, gender, or sexuality. A refusal to prescribe contraceptives, for instance, would harm female patients.

Protect Your Professional License

While the Iowa bill promises to shield healthcare providers who deny care on the basis of conscientious objections, the absence of any mandate to refer patients elsewhere could expose them to allegations that would put their license to practice at risk. At the same time, providers in states without these kinds of broad protections are going to face questions from their licensing board any time they deny patient care because it would violate their moral or ethical beliefs.

No matter what kind of laws your state has or doesn’t have regarding your right to deny patients’ care, the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help. If your licensing board is investigating or adjudicating your professional decisions, call us so we can make sure they follow due process and help you put forward your best possible case: call 888-535-3686 or send us a message online.