LANSING – Sen. John Moolenaar introduced legislation on Thursday
to protect the religious freedom and conscience of Michigan
residents in the areas of purchasing health insurance, providing
medical care and performing scientific research.
“Michigan families and doctors should not be forced to do or buy
something that is against their personal religious beliefs,” said
Moolenaar, R-Midland. “One of America’s founding principles is
religious freedom, rooted in the core belief that the federal
government does not have the power to infringe upon your religious
convictions. Religious liberty is the reason many families came to
America, and this is about protecting that deeply held principle in
Michigan.”
Senate Bill 975 would establish the Religious Liberty and
Conscience Protection Act in Michigan. The bill would allow an
individual or health care entity to assert a conscientious
objection to a specific health care service without fear of
repercussion. Discrimination would be prohibited, and appropriate
safeguards would protect people in emergency situations.
“The federal government recently imposed a mandate on employers and
religious institutions to buy insurance benefits that violate their
beliefs,” Moolenaar said. “It is one of the first clear examples of
federal government overstepping its bounds under Obamacare.
“While that issue is far from settled in Washington, I sponsored
this measure to establish a solid, workable framework for
protecting constitutional religious rights in Michigan.”
Under Moolenaar’s bill, those who purchase or sell health insurance
plans would not be forced to cover an objectionable service; health
facilities that object to a certain service may refrain from
providing that service; and employees of a health care provider may
request reassignment to other duties if asked to perform or assist
with a service that violates their religious convictions.
The bill is similar to federal efforts to protect religious and
conscientious objections to the current Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) rule mandating contraceptive services and
protect against future rules that could be issued under the health
care reform law. HHS has the authority to determine what is a
mandatory “preventative service” and could later mandate abortion
as a required service.
“Michigan has had an effective conscience protection law for
individual health care providers regarding abortion for more than
30 years,” Moolenaar said. “My legislation extends that type of
protection to the entire health care arena and provides a good
balance between delivering quality health care when needed and
respecting the core principles of a free society.”
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