Just a few moments ago, the Illinois Senate (on a vote of 34-19) adopted Senate Bill 1564, an amendment to the state's Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The following can be attributed to Lorie Chaiten, Reproductive Rights Project Director of the ACLU of Illinois:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois is pleased that the Illinois Senate today move forward Senate Bill 1564, an amendment to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act. This critical legislation carefully balances the need of patients to get full and complete information about their medical condition with the right of health care providers to refuse services and care to which they have a religious or moral objection.
When a patient goes into an exam room, they should not be concerned that the health care and information they receive will be limited by their doctors religious beliefs .
Recent polling indicates that nearly 80% of Illinois voters want this law either to be repealed or modified in the fashion that Senate Bill 1564 accomplishes.
We applaud Senator Daniel Biss for his leadership on this issue and we urge the House to follow the lead of the Senate and to send this bill on to the Governor.
