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NH House committee hears bill to bar doctors from denying medically necessary sterilizing treatments based on reproductive assumptions
Summary
Lawmakers heard hours of testimony on HB606, a bill that would prohibit physicians from refusing sterilizing treatments — including hysterectomy and certain medications — for patients with defined medical conditions on the basis of age, marital status, number of children or speculation about reproductive plans.
Representative Ellen Reed, prime sponsor of House Bill 606, told the House Committee on Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs that the bill responds to repeated accounts of patients being denied sterilizing treatments even when physicians said the treatment would address a medical condition.
"The doctor can, of course, always deny for medical reasons ... The doctor can deny for payment reasons. The doctor can deny even for religious reasons, but just not these kind of condescending patronizing reasons," Representative Ellen Reed said in opening testimony.
Why it matters: Supporters say the bill would remove a recurring barrier that has delayed or denied treatment for people with conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and other reproductive and systemic disorders. Opponents raised questions about religious liberty, clinical…
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