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Bill would require Texas facilities to accept religious or conscious vaccine exemptions for healthcare workers, prompting divided testimony
Summary
Sen. Middleton’s SB 407 would require health care facilities to accept religious or conscience-based vaccine exemptions for employees; hospitals warned of risks to vulnerable patients while advocates said the change protects workers' liberty without removing infection-control options.
Sen. Middleton presented committee substitute language for Senate Bill 4-07, which would require health care facilities to recognize and accept employee exemptions to workplace vaccine requirements based on reasons of conscience or religious beliefs.
"Under current law, healthcare facilities may allow vaccine exemptions but are not required to do so," Middleton said, and argued the bill would prevent arbitrary denials of exemptions that forced workers to choose between their jobs and religious beliefs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Invited testimony was sharply divided. Dr. Mamman Sam, a hospitalist testifying for the Texas Medical Association, opposed the bill on patient-safety grounds, saying hospitals care for very vulnerable patients and that staff illnesses from vaccine-preventable diseases can force closures or reduce service in rural areas. "A hospital does not have the option to close," Sam said. He noted that exposures to measles require prolonged isolation for staff and can have serious consequences for infants and immunocompromised patients.
By contrast, Jackie Schlegel and Michelle Evans of advocacy groups supporting individual vaccine choice urged passage. Schlegel, who described herself as a caregiver, said the bill "does not prevent facilities from requiring PPE or implementing infection-control measures" and framed the proposal as protecting workers’ religious liberty without removing standard safety tools.
Hospitals raised data and safety concerns: Nicole Losardi of the Texas Hospital Association testified against the bill, saying it could lower staff vaccination rates, increase outbreak risk, worsen staffing shortages, and jeopardize medically fragile patients. Losardi cited ongoing measles activity and said hospitals have a duty to protect patients.
Senators and witnesses discussed tradeoffs between individual liberties and infection control. The committee took public testimony and left SB 4-07 pending.
The record includes divergent claims about the impacts of mandates and the causes of certain infectious events; senators asked for records and data about recent outbreaks and deaths cited during testimony.
