Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Subcommittee splits on medical conscience bill; testimony from clinicians and advocacy groups before tabling 5–3
Summary
House Bill 2605, the proposed Medical Conscience Protection Act, drew hundreds of public comments from clinicians, students and advocacy groups on both sides. The subcommittee adopted a motion to table the bill by a 5–3 vote.
House Bill 2605, introduced by Delegate Ware and titled the “Medical Conscience Protection Act,” would create statutory protections letting health care professionals decline to participate in medical procedures that violate their conscience, while stating explicitly that nothing in the chapter overrides obligations to provide emergency medical services.
Delegate Ware said the bill closely follows longstanding conscience-protection statutes in other states—citing Illinois’s 1977 law as an example—and that the Medical Society of Virginia adopted a policy aligned with the proposal. Ware told the panel the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
