Florida health care providers will be given greater freedom to act on their consciences once House Bill 747 gets approved.
The bill, which was reportedly out of subcommittee on Jan. 25, would allow providers and insurers to make certain decisions that are consistent with their religious beliefs under certain circumstances.
“This bill does not allow a health care provider the right to cancel a patient because of who they are as a person or the beliefs they hold,” Florida Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart), the author of the bill, told the Tampa Bay Times. “It simply gives that provider the ability to decline to perform a specific function or procedure or prescription.”
Under the bill, a health care provider could not be sued after an employee exercises their “right of conscience,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Currently, under Florida law, health care providers can refuse to participate in the termination of a pregnancy, prescribing contraception or counseling services that are against their religious beliefs.
State Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) has contended that patients could be discriminated against by doctors who hold any manner of personal beliefs. “There are unintended consequences of this bill. It is not well constructed,” she told the Tampa Bay Times. “It doesn’t delineate specific treatments. It does not protect against negligence. It is fully ambiguous.”
