So stupid. So mean-spirited. So bigoted.

[Ohiogal]

Kentucky Lawmakers resurrect 'conscience' bill that would let doctors refuse to treat patients

A controversial proposal that would let medical workers and insurance companies refuse to perform or pay for health care services that violate their conscience is back before the Kentucky legislature, and opponents warn it could open the door to dangerous discrimination.

The so-called conscience bill, which stalled in 2020, took its first key step toward possibly becoming law when the Senate Judiciary Committee gave it the green light Thursday, although a few senators who voted to let it advance noted they still have some questions or potential changes to consider.

People opposed to the bill told lawmakers it could make it harder for already vulnerable patients — including people struggling with addiction, survivors of sexual assault, individuals who are transgender and people of color — to get treatment they need because health care workers could refuse to assist them based on their personal beliefs and prejudices.

Senate Bill 83's sponsor, Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, and some other Republican senators discussing the legislation Thursday indicated it does not let medical providers refuse to treat someone based on who they are as an individual.

Instead, it only allows them to refuse to provide a specific service if doing so would violate their conscience.

"The sole intent and purpose of this bill is to build a firewall of liability protection for health care providers between corporate and government intrusion in the practice of medicine, as well as potentially saving patients from themselves by allowing health care providers to practice what is truly in the best interest of their patients," Meredith said.

More....

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-general-assembly/2021/02/11/kentucky-conscience-bill-lets-doctors-refuse-treat-patients/6723494002/

****** “It’s not because of YOU I won’t treat you ... it’s because of MY BELIEFS!” What utter cruel bullshit!

****** They wail about ”government intrusion in the practice of medicine” but look what they do to women who seek abortion, which is legal.

[Laelth]

1. k&r for visibility. n/t

-Laelth

[smirkymonkey]

2. This is evil!

Haven't Kentucky voters had enough with these troglodyte politicians yet? That state is just a cesspool of hatred and bigotry.

[Ohiogal]

10. I know, right?

Would this law allow them to ask every patient a slew of questions about their lifestyle or religion before they commence treatment? For sure you couldn’t work in an ER. They are just plain cruel.

[Tommymac]

21. Kentucky Tennessee and West Virginia are almost making Mississippi Alabama and South Carolina

look progressive.

Well, maybe not.

I think I'll refer to their Rethuglican Congressional and State House representatives as the White Supremacy Caucus.

Got a lot of work to do to support Our Progressive Sisters and Brothers in all these States, bless them all.

[Ohiogal]

46. I'm at the point where

Letting them secede from our country to form their own little Conservatopia is sounding better and better. Leave us sane people alone.

[Tommymac]

51. I'd agree except there are a lot of good progressive folks in those States. nt

[Sanity Claws]

3. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath

First, do no harm.
Leaving sick people untreated or to die seems contrary to the Hippocratic Oath.

[Ohiogal]

12. One of my first thoughts, as well.

[rickyhall]

36. Not seems, IS contrary to the Hippocratic Oath.

Can't do both, it's definitely un-Christian and inhuman.

[3catwoman3]

55. These folks are taking the Hypocritic...

...Oath instead.

[niyad]

4. Absolutely disgusting. These assholes all need a different line of work. Something where they

never interact with any living beings.

[Ohiogal]

9. They sure have no sense of

Compassion or sense of community, that’s for sure.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. ballanced budgets be dammed paved roads be dammed , etc be dammed .

hope this gets shot down in the courts .

[Ohiogal]

8. Absolutely.

If some over zealous Evangelical Christian doctor would legally be permitted to refuse treating patients on the basis of beliefs, he or she would have very few patients!

[LakeArenal]

6. In 2010 it was called Death Panels.

Republicans just love the dead.

Happy V Day Amiga!!!

[Ohiogal]

7. ¡Igualmente!

And they call themselves the pro-life party ....

[Bettie]

11. You know, we hear this crap every so often

and my response is always the same.

It isn't as if doctors, nurses, pharmacists and the like don't know going in that they will have to do the things that they are now complaining about.

So, if you think your "conscience" won't allow you to DO YOUR FUCKING JOB, then go into another line of work.

I get so fucking tired of this, basically, right wing religious nutjobs trying to force their religious beliefs on others because of an overwhelming sense of privilege.

[Ohiogal]

14. Exactly.

Why even become a doctor or nurse if this is how you feel?

And the part about letting insurance companies off the hook for payment of treatments for such things as addiction, alcoholism, attempted suicide or mental illness, Or, they won’t pay for your cancer treatments because you smoked and that’s a “bad choice”. It sets a very dangerous precedent.

[patphil]

23. Imagine if firemen decided not to put out a fire in a house where homosexuals live.

Or if teachers decided not to teach homosexual high school kids.
Or if police looked the other way when a homosexual was being attacked...oh wait!, that actually happens.
As doctors, they took an oath to do no harm. Denial of treatment falls under the "doing harm" part of their oath.
These people have traveled far away from the teachings of Jesus; to a very dark place where judgement rules, and there is no room for love and compassion.

[Ohiogal]

32. That's a great point.

Conservative Utopia ... only live among/deal with people just like yourself

[BobTheSubgenius]

58. That was exactly my point, at what I believe was the genesis of this whole issue.

"Conscience-stricken" pharmacists refusing to fill Rx that they didn't agree with.

[bullwinkle428]

13. This is so vile, I'm surprised the Iowa legislature hasn't introduced it. (I live in Iowa,

in case you haven't already guessed that!)

[Ohiogal]

15. I'll bet

There are Republicans in other states who would love to see this become law, Ohio included!

[paleotn]

29. Introduced in all red states in 3...2....1

It's the latest in the Repukes endless attempts to force their screwy religious beliefs on the rest of us couched as "moral" imperatives. But, after Trump, these rancid pieces of shit have no standing when it comes to anything even remotely moral.

[Ohiogal]

34. Maybe all those doctors

Who come here from Pakistan or India or Iran could refuse to treat “Christians”.

[Turbineguy]

16. "to practice what is truly in the best interest of their patients"

Like republican re-education camps.

[Ohiogal]

17. Yep,that concept is especially vile.

[58Sunliner]

18. Sick and venal. Meredith is a gaslighting pos.

[Ohiogal]

27. For sure.

[Traildogbob]

19. If I were a doctor

My conscience objection to treat would be any GOP. Let all the MFers die. Make the planet great.

[Ohiogal]

24. Wonder if they ever thought of that ....

[Traildogbob]

28. Hating these

QOP raging, lunatic, murderous, greedy, liars is a “Religion” to me.

[PatrickforO]

20. Back in the day, doctors down South were also able to use their 'beliefs' to refuse

treatment to black people. How many died, I wonder, because hospitals and doctors refused to treat them?

How many die now because of racism in medical treatment?

[Ohiogal]

25. Yep, and this proposal is cut from the same cloth.

Disgraceful

[murielm99]

30. Many more black women are still dying

in childbirth. They die at a much higher rate than white women. Babies die, too.

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/02/20/why-are-black-women-at-such-high-risk-of-dying-from-pregnancy-complications

[Ohiogal]

38. Yes, it's a travesty and a disgrace in a country like ours.

[FakeNoose]

35. I see this as a fundamental reason for educational grants

Tuition and scholarships for minority students, maybe even a "free ride" through medical or nursing schools. This would be given in exchange for a promise by those graduates to work in clinics and hospitals for the economically disadvantaged. The grants could be offered to white students too, as long as they accept the same conditions.

Eventually those racist doctors are going to retire or die, and the next generation of medical professionals would have a better, less-racist attitude towards the populations they serve.

[paleotn]

22. Whaaa???!!

Health care providers, with fucked up religious beliefs they want to IMPOSE on the rest of us, are the arbitrators of what's in a patient's best interest? These people are so full of shit. Just say it, Meredith. You want to impose your fucked up ideas about a Bronze / Iron Age set of myths on the rest of us. Fuck you, Meredith. Fuck you sideways.

[Ohiogal]

26. And if you live in a sparsely populated area

You better hope a doctor like this isn’t your only option!

[paleotn]

31. Exactly!!

The whole concept is so flawed it's laughable...if these jack-o-loons weren't serious about it.

[gibraltar72]

33. Cancel culture.

[the_sly_pig]

37. Religion.

Same tactics have been used for years. Not sure why anyone is surprised.

[flying_wahini]

39. What about anti mask and CV deniers? Do we get to refuse them?

[Jay25]

40. "Violation of conscience", is subjective, not objective.

[MLAA]

41. The land of McConnell and Rand strikes again.

[Lonestarblue]

42. I wonder how many Republican voters even know that it is ALEC that writes their laws.

And organizations like ALEC, which is supported by corporate contributions. Republican legislators essentially do nothing but perhaps sometimes read the laws they vote on. They certainly do nothing for most of their constituents. No wonder so many people want to get elected as Republicans. it’s a cushy job where they have to do very little and get to pontificate about what good Christians they are and how liberals are destroying the country.

[c-rational]

43. K&R - These smug reThuglicans push this abhorrent stance as most people do not object, nor

even notice these laws are being enacted. They all need to be voted out of office.

[maxrandb]

44. If they concerned about "corporate and government intrusion in the practice of medicine"

does that mean my Insurance Company can't deny me coverage?

[Ohiogal]

48. Good point!

[iluvtennis]

45. This is absurd. What's the makeup of the Judiciary committee nowadays. Don't the Dems

have the numbers How could this pass that committee?

[Fla Dem]

47. Slap in the face to the Hippocratic Oath

A Modern Version of the Hippocratic Oath

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

The classical version of the Hippocratic Oath is from the translation from the Greek by Ludwig Edelstein. From The Hippocratic Oath: Text, Translation, and Interpretation, by Ludwig Edelstein. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1943.

The modern version of the Hippocratic Oath was written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University.

https://www.medicinenet.com/hippocratic_oath/definition.htm

[Ohiogal]

49. Thank you for posting this!

“I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.”

[pazzyanne]

53. Thank you for this post.

Your post was posted just before I posted the same information. I self deleted mine and thow my support to your post.

[Fla Dem]

64. Very Democratic of you!!!!

[pazzyanne]

66. You know - great minds within minutes of each other!

[bronxiteforever]

52. Kick & recommend for visibility. Horrible n/t

[ybbor]

54. So Christ-like of them

I just posted on FB about my racist Catholic School classmates racism and fanaticism for the orange anus.

These faux “Christians” would have hated Jesus and his message. These same folks had MLK quotes all over their pages on MLK day. They would have hated him today. I stated that he was the original BLM movement they had and denigrate today to rationalize their attack on 1/6.

We need to get ahold of these state legislatures to get back to normal.

[Ohiogal]

56. Catholics can be such a conundrum

I know a little bit about that since I was raised in the Catholic Church but do not attend any more.

Catholic Charities and Catholic run overseas medical missions do some wonderful things to help struggling communities and people in third world nations. Yet it seems that so many Catholics are quite bigoted and are staunch Trump supporters. At least many that I have run into. I certainly hope more and more continue to turn away from Trumpism.

[llmart]

59. I think the Catholics do those things in third world countries hoping to gain more converts.

It's not really out of a sense of altruism or Christian principles. Years ago there used to be a Catholic newspaper (can't recall the name right now) and I'd see the front page and it'd be all about the poor starving children and babies in third world countries that they were helping and I say, "Yet they won't help the women with accessing birth control."

[keithbvadu2]

61. WWJD?

[Dustlawyer]

57. Limited government intrusion into our lives, yea right!

We have already seen how much their so called “principles” mean to them. What was that about deficit spending again?

[KentuckyWoman]

60. "no government is healthcare" is, of course, bullshit.

They aren't screaming to get government out of abortions ....

[keithbvadu2]

62. Next will be Protestants and Catholics refusing to provide health care to the other.

Next will be Protestants and Catholics refusing to provide health care to the other.

Many consider the other to be false Christians.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

63. "The sole intent and purpose of this bill..."

That's a bullshit phrase that QRepugs use to argue why they're trying to jam unconscionable legislation down our throats. This bill is another attempt to shut down abortions, including access to birth control drugs -- including the
"morning after" pill, among other things.

[NoMoreRepugs]

65. These glimpses of what Trumplandia would look like

are terrifying.

[Blue Owl]

71. One shudders at the thought of such a place

[BannonsLiver]

67. LOL

When I read the title I thought this was another thread from the thought police with an update on authorized nicknames for Lindsey Graham.

[Patterson]

68. Arkansas is trying to do something similar.

[Solly Mack]

69. K&R

saving patients from themselves by allowing health care providers to practice what is truly in the best interest of their patients,

Wow.

[North Shore Chicago]

70. Well,

they don't call it the "hypocritical oath" for nothing.

This bill is awful, just awful.