The State Journal-Register ran an editorial endorsing Senate Bill 1564 which aims to amend Illinois' Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The Act, which reflects current Illinois law, harms patients by allowing doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to refuse to give a patient care and even information that conflicts with the provider’s religious beliefs. The ACLU of Illinois continues to advocate for the bill's passage. The bill is currently awaiting a vote in the Illinois House.
Most states have similar laws, but according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, ours is the broadest in the country, and it has caused problems for patients — including a woman who experienced a miscarriage but wasn't informed of all options for medical care, and another pregnant woman whose doctor failed to inform her she'd sold her practice to a faith-based institution and was barred from performing the tubal ligation she’d previously agreed to do once the woman delivered the baby.
Other states require that providers have protocols in place for offering patients information about standards of care. Illinois' law currently doesn't prohibit providers from offering that information, but it doesn't require them to either.
Learn more about Senate Bill 1564 and the initiative to Put Patients First.
