Des Moines, Iowa — Healthcare workers, including pharmacists, could refuse to provide any service that violates their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs under a bill that’s cleared an Iowa Senate subcommittee. Tom Chapman is the executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, which supports the bill.
For more than four decades, Iowa law has said doctors cannot be forced to perform abortions. This bill would let healthcare professionals refuse to make referrals or provide any surgery, medication, or service. Dane Schumann, a lobbyist for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says the bill is very broad.
Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, says the bill meddles in the lives of patients.
Pastor Brad Cranston of Burlington is the founder of Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values, which supports the bill.
Doctors and other medical professionals who testified at the hearing said the bill could alter the basic standard of care for Iowans based on what hospital they enter or the doctor they see.
