Montana passes bill for medical providers to refuse certain treatments

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Aug 2023 23:04

While the bill applies to a wide number of entities, including practitioners, institutions, and insurers, some exceptions apply to emergency rooms.

Stethoscopes at a doctor's office (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)

Montana has passed a new law, called the Implement Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, aimed at providing legal coverage for healthcare providers who refuse to prescribe a wide range of medical treatments on the basis that they contradict a professional practitioner or an institution's ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles.

Once the law goes into effect in October, professionals or institutions will be able to refuse to prescribe medical marijuana or partake in medical procedures such as abortion or euthanasia, as well as gender-affirming care.

These kinds of legislation have existed at both the federal and state levels for years. However, the Montana law goes a step further to undermine patient care, critics say, noting that they threaten the right of patients to receive lifesaving and essential care.

Liz Reiner Platt, the director of Columbia Law School’s Law, Rights, and Religion Project, told KFF Health News that these bills, which she dubs "medical refusal bills," deny patients the standard of adequate medical care, "because objections to certain routine medical practices are being prioritized over patient health."

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 21 bills instituting or expanding "conscience" clauses have been introduced in statehouses, and two have become law this year alone.

In Florida, lawmakers have passed legislation that enables providers and insurers to refuse health services that run afoul of ethical beliefs.

Montana's "conscience" bill goes further by barring health workers to provide, facilitate, or refer patients for abortions. The exception remains that providers provide their consent in writing.

Other states, which have previously passed such bills, include South Carolina, Ohio, and Arkansas.

Those who have backed the bill say the legislation is aimed at filling loopholes in federal law while also empowering medical experts in their own practice based on conscience pertaining to cases other than abortion and sterilization.

While the bill applies to a wide number of entities, including practitioners, institutions, and insurers, some exceptions apply to emergency rooms where the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act takes precedence.

"We have technology that is pushing the limits of what is maybe ethical, and that is different in everybody’s minds," said Republican state Rep. Amy Regier, who sponsored the Montana bill. "Having extra protections for people to practice according to their conscience as we continue down that path of innovation is important."

Regarding claims that the bill discriminates against patients, Regier said that if "someone has a conscientious objection to a specific service, they should be able to practice that way."