Arkansas Sends "Most Extreme and Deadly" Bill Attacking LGBTQ+ Healthcare to Governor's Desk [View all]
Arkansas is primed to enact what critics say is the nation’s worst anti-LGBTQ+ healthcare refusal law after a bill passed both houses of its legislature this month.
The innocuously named “Medical Ethics and Diversity Act,” also known as Senate Bill 289, states that doctors and other medical providers are “not required to participate in a healthcare service” if doing so would violate their religious or moral beliefs. The legislation was originally voted down in the Public Health, Welfare And Labor Committee of the Arkansas House over fears it was too broad before being passed on the second attempt.
Supporters of the legislation say that SB 289 is necessary to make sure that Christian doctors aren’t forced to perform medical procedures like abortions or gender-affirming surgeries. State Rep. Brandt Smith (R-Jonesboro), a co-sponsor of the bill, said during committee debate that it “provides a solution and a remedy to protect the rights of medical workers,” as reported by the NPR affiliate KUAR.
Hammer, meanwhile, noted that the proposal is similar to laws already in place in states like Mississippi and Illinois that allow doctors to refuse to perform certain procedures.
https://www.them.us/story/arkansas-deadly-bill-attacking-lgbtq-healthcare
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