[Tall-Corn] Bill to request the Governor Veto

[Helen Mejia]

Hi All,

Below I’ve copied an announcement from the DD Council. On the Governor’s desk right now is a bill that would basically allow medical providers to deny people care if they were ethically opposed to it. For example, if they don’t think a person with a disability should receive services to help them have children, or that we wouldn’t benefit from life-prolonging treatments. They wouldn’t even have to tell us about options we could get elsewhere if they didn’t want to. To me, the idea that my medical care could be impacted by someone’s misguided view of blindness is very concerning. If you are also concerned about this, please reach out to the Governor’s office. There are ways to allow religious freedom that don’t discriminate against us.

Helen
Helen Mejia, President
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
hmejia at nfbi.org
(570) 983-7867

TAKE ACTION: Medical Ethics Defense Act

House File 571 <https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/YNK6QJyd40hF0ZuMbXLbNQ> is on its way to the Governor, who will need to decide whether to sign this controversial bill into law.  The bill allows doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care providers to refuse to perform any health care service that conflicts with their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs.  There are no legal consequences for refusing, and in fact, professional licensing boards would not be able to discipline someone for this refusal.  In addition, employers would not be able to fire someone for refusing to provide a service.  

The bill is very broad, and also means that a provider could refuse to even advise a patient about a treatment they find objectionable — leaving patients in the dark about their own options. This could particularly affect end-of-life planning and the use of certain psychiatric medicines that some faith communities oppose. In addition, entire hospitals and clinics can refuse to provide certain treatments.  For people with disabilities, this is especially worrying because they often depend on a specific, coordinated network of specialists. People with disabilities often have fewer providers to choose from and face greater barriers when they have to find alternative care. A law that lets any provider — or an entire institution — refuse care without any obligation to inform or redirect the patient could make accessing care even harder in Iowa, especially in rural areas.

If this is concerning to you, click on the button below to email the Governor! 

 <https://www.votervoice.net/AdvocacyCOOP/Campaigns/136016/Respond>
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