THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY COX, AUMENT, BLOOM, BOYD, CUTLER, GABLER, KAUFFMAN, KAVULICH, KORTZ, KRIEGER, LAWRENCE, METCALFE, RAPP, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROCK, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SIMMONS, STERN, SWANGER AND BENNINGHOFF, FEBRUARY 1, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, FEBRUARY 1, 2011  

AN ACT

Providing for freedom of conscience of health care providers and

health care institutions.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Freedom of

Conscience Act.

Section 2.  Legislative findings and purpose.

(a)  Findings.--The General Assembly finds as follows:

(1)  It is the public policy of the Commonwealth to

respect and protect the fundamental right of conscience of

individuals who and institutions which provide health care

services.

(2)  Without comprehensive protection, rights of

conscience of health care providers or institutions may be

violated in various ways, such as harassment, demotion,

salary reduction, transfer, termination, loss of staffing

privileges, denial of aid or benefits and refusal to license

or refusal to certify.

(3)  It is the purpose of this act to protect the right

of all health care providers and institutions to decline to

counsel, advise, provide, perform, assist or participate in

providing or performing health care services that violate

their consciences.

(b)  Purpose.--It is the purpose of this act to prohibit all

forms of discrimination, disqualification, coercion, disability

or liability upon such health care providers and institutions

that decline to perform any health care service that violates

their conscience.

Section 3.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Conscience."  The religious, moral or ethical principles

held by a health care provider or a health care institution. A

health care institution's religious, moral or ethical principles

shall be stated in the institution's mission statement,

constitution, bylaws, articles of incorporation, regulations,

directives or other relevant documents or guidelines under which

it operates.

"Health care institution."  Any public or private

organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship,

association, unincorporated association, agency, network, joint

venture or other entity that is involved in providing health

care services, including, but not limited to, hospitals,

clinics, medical centers, ambulatory surgical centers, private

physicians' offices, pharmacies, nursing homes, university

medical schools and nursing schools, medical training facilities

or other institutions or locations wherein health care services

are provided to any person.

"Health care provider."  Any individual who may be asked or

assigned to participate in any way in a health care service,

including, but not limited to, a physician, physician assistant,

nurse, nurses' aide, medical assistant, hospital employee,

clinic employee, nursing home employee, pharmacist, pharmacy

employee, researcher, medical or nursing school faculty, student

or employee, counselor, social worker or any professional or

paraprofessional, or any other person who furnishes or assists

in the furnishing of health care services.

"Health care service."  Any phase of patient medical care,

treatment or procedure relating to abortion, artificial birth

control, artificial insemination, assisted reproduction,

emergency contraception, human cloning, human embryonic stem-

cell research, fetal experimentation and sterilization and

including, but not limited to, patient referral, counseling,

therapy, testing, diagnosis, prognosis, research, instruction,

prescribing, dispensing or administering any device, drug, or

medication, surgery, or any other care or treatment rendered by

health care providers or health care institutions.

"Participate."  To counsel, advise, provide, perform, assist

in, refer or admit for purposes of providing, transfer or

participate in providing, any health care service or any form of

such service.

Section 4.  Freedom of conscience of health care providers.

(a)  Freedom of conscience.--A health care provider has the

right not to participate, and no health care provider shall be

required to participate, in a health care service that violates

his or her conscience.

(b)  Immunity from liability.--There shall be no cause of

action against a health care provider for declining to

participate in a health care service that violates his or her

conscience.

(c)  Discrimination.--It shall be unlawful for any person,

health care provider, health care institution, public service

institution, professional organization, public official or any

board which certifies competency in medical specialties to

discriminate against any health care provider in any manner

based on his or her declining to participate in a health care

service that violates his or her conscience. This shall include,

but is not limited to, termination, transfer or refusal of staff

privileges, refusal of board certification, adverse

administrative action, demotion, loss of career specialty,

reassignment to a different shift, reduction of wages or

benefits, refusal to award any grant, contract or other program,

refusal to provide residency training opportunities, denial,

deprivation, suspension or disqualification with respect to

licensure or government certification or any other penalty,

disciplinary or retaliatory action.

Section 5.  Freedom of conscience of health care institutions.

(a)  Freedom of conscience.--A health care institution has

the right not to participate, and no health care institution

shall be required to participate, in a health care service that

violates its conscience.

(b)  Immunity from liability.--There shall be no cause of

action against a health care institution for declining to

participate in a health care service that violates its

conscience if the institution has a notice clearly posted

stating it reserves the right to decline to provide or

participate in health care services that violate its conscience.

A health care institution that declines to provide or

participate in a health care service that violates its

conscience shall not be civilly, criminally or administratively

liable.

(c)  Discrimination.--It shall be unlawful for any person,

public or private institution or public official to discriminate

against any health care institution, or any person, association,

corporation or other entity attempting to establish a new health

care institution or operating an existing health care

institution, in any manner, including, but not limited to, any

denial, deprivation or disqualification with respect to

licensure, any aid assistance, benefit or privilege, including

staff privileges, or any authorization, including authorization

to create, expand, improve, acquire, affiliate or merge with any

health care institution, because such health care institution,

or person, association or corporation planning, proposing or

operating a health care institution, declines to participate in

a health care service which violates the health care

institution's conscience.

(d)  Denial of aid or benefit.--It shall be unlawful for any

public official, agency, institution or entity to deny any

payments, reimbursements for services or any form of aid,

assistance, funding, grants or benefits or in any other manner

to coerce, disqualify or discriminate against any person,

association, corporation or other entity attempting to establish

a new health care institution or operating an existing health

care institution because the existing or proposed health care

institution declines to participate in a health care service

contrary to the health care institution's conscience.

Section 6.  Effect on informed consent requirements.

Nothing in this act shall exempt a health care provider or

health care institution from complying with informed consent

requirements mandated by statute regarding the provision of a

health care service.

Section 7.  Severability.

The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of

this act or its application to any person or circumstance is

held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions

or applications of this act which can be given effect without

the invalid provision or application.

Section 20.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.