Posted on 04/26/2025 7:34:27 PM PDT by Morgana
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed a pro-life bill protecting the conscience rights of medical professionals like doctors and nurse who don’t want to be forced to participate in abortions.
The bill creates conscience protections for doctors who are morally opposed to certain medical practices, including abortion.
While Tennessee is one of a couple dozen states with abortion bans that protect the lives of unborn children, abortions can still be done in very limited situations. Also, if the law is ever overturned, pro-life doctors and nurses want to be sure their conscience rights are protected to excuse themselves from abortions that will kill unborn babies.
The bill also applies to other medical situations where pro-life medical workers could be required to participate in something like IVF, surrogacy, assisted suicide or euthanasia or other procedures that violate their pro-life consciences.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Greg Chafuen hailed the governor’s signature on the Medical Ethics Defense Act, SB 955.
“Patients are best served by health care professionals who are free to act consistent with their oath to ‘do no harm.’ Unfortunately, doctors and nurses have been targeted for caring for their patients by refraining from harmful and dangerous procedures,” he told LifeNews. “This ends up discouraging countless young professionals from entering the health care field because of fear that they will be forced to violate their conscience.”
He continued: “Tennessee’s MED Act ensures that health care professionals are not forced to participate in procedures that violate their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. ADF commends Sen. Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile, Rep. Bryan Terry, and the Tennessee Legislature for their fortitude, and we thank Gov. Lee for standing with health care professionals and the patients they serve by enacting the MED Act. We also thank Tennessee Right to Life for its monumental work on this effort. Now, Tennessee health care heroes are free to care for all patients in a compassionate, ethical manner.”
I should be the same in all 50 states. Physicians should not be forced to do anything that’s against one’s conscience.
I agree. Doctors are to save lives not kill them.
Most conservative states are becoming more conservative. Blue states are becoming more deranged. There are five to seven states that could go either way depending upon the next two election cycles and whether election laws are enforced, but the lines are being drawn as our United States become more and more divided.
Common sense and good ethics.
There shouldn’t need to be a law protecting people from being forced to provide services they don’t want to provide. Or to put it another way, we already outlawed slavery/involuntary servitude, which is what forcing a doctor to do an abortion against their will is. This basically underscores how malevolent and totalitarian the pro-abortion side is.
No doctor is ever forced to do an abortion
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.