Clearly, this guy should be making health care decisions for others....
Posted on 10/18/2021 6:30:33 AM PDT by redguyinabluestate
In the battle over COVID vaccine mandates, Governor JB Pritzker is quietly working behind the scenes to revise a law some groups are invoking to try and avoid the requirement.
The Health Care Right of Conscience Act bans discrimination by public or private institutions "because of such persons conscientious refusal to receive...or participate in any way in any particular form of healthcare services contrary to his or her conscience."
The Fraternal Order of Police, who have led the fight in Chicago against Mayor Lori Lightfoot's COVID vaccine mandate for all city employees, are among those looking to use this loophole.
"At face value, it's usable," said FOP president John Catanzara. "I mean, it literally says if you have a firmly held religious belief, a firmly held conscientious belief, against a medical procedure, you are covered by that statute. Period."
But the ACLU of Illinois said the intent of the law was to protect medical providers from being forced to do things like perform abortions or provide contraceptives contrary to religious beliefs.
"No one ever contemplated that this would be used in a fashion where an individual would be able to opt out of care, of a service, and then collect protection under the right of conscience," said Ed Yohnka, ACLU of Illinois.
At this point, the governor has not even reached out to the House, but it's clear he wants to take steps to prevent a series of lawsuits.
"The Health Care Right of Conscience Act was never intended to allow people to avoid public health guidance during a global pandemic. The administration supports efforts to clarify the law, so it cannot be misinterpreted by fringe elements," said Emily Bittner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor JB Pritzker, in a statement.
But as debate continues over vaccine mandates and what qualifies as a valid exemption, legal challenges of various kinds are expected.
OK, I see. In Illinois, civil rights are called “loopholes”. What a hellhole of a state. Not even compliant to the Constitution.
ACLU fighting FOR big government intrusion into private lives.
Not that they ever had us fooled as to which side they’re on.
How dare anyone opt out of a “service”. How dare anyone make a choice.
This is collective madness or something worse.
Who is the arbiter of this “firmly held” or “sincerely held” belief? How is it determined objectively and uniformly? Does the First Amendment have any such provisions for the free exercise of religion? How about specificity of what constitutes a religion?
The religion of Sequoyah101 has a firmly held Sincere belief to refuse the advances of tyrants.
I will never take the jab even if it was good for me and functional which it is not.
Refuse, Resist, Solidarity.
Covid is just speeding up the fleeing from IL public sector jobs. It was clear more than a decade ago that future public sector jobs would not offer the benefits that kept the prior generation involved in the bullshit. Now unions are pushing back towards slight changes in the agreement and politicians are getting away with it. Just wait until there is a state and municipal credit crutch as interest rates on solid investments go back to historical levels and IL debt gets a 6 to 8% requirement for return by the markets.
Clearly, this guy should be making health care decisions for others....
Hey Guv, you may fire more people, but you can’t make them take the toxic and ineffective vax.
Let me help the ACLU commi out.
“No one ever contemplated that “ people would be forced to get injected with experimental concoctions else be fired.
The pfascist position is that the governor owns your body—you have no business deciding what goes into it.
Because..science!
No matter what side people/entities are on the COVID-19 Vaccine issue, this is LAWYERS PARADISE! Suing, from this issue, will be ongoing, for years and decades to come.
Come on, infarction! Do your work now!
So being a conscientious objector is now a bad thing according to the new fascist left Nazis.
Times have sure changed since Viet Nam days.
The only good vaxx pusher is an incarcerated vaxx pusher.
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