Medical Ethics Defense Act draws hours of testimony from doctors, licensing boards and advocacy groups

House Bill 222, known as the Medical Ethics Defense Act, would create statutory conscience protections for healthcare professionals, institutions and payers in Wyoming. The bill drew extensive testimony from medical providers, licensing boards, hospitals, colleges and legal advocates at a long committee hearing; the committee recessed before final action.

Sponsor Representative Pepper Ottman said the bill is intended to protect health-care workers and institutions from being required to participate in or pay for services that conflict with ethical, moral or religious beliefs. “The bill… protects the rights of healthcare professionals, institutions, and payers in Wyoming to refuse participation in or payment for healthcare services that conflict with their conscience,” Ottman said. She described the measure as covering conscience objections grounded in ethics, morals or religion and said the bill would not alter duties to provide emergency medical treatment that federal law (42 U.S.C. §1395dd, EMTALA) requires.

Supporters, including family physicians and advocacy groups, said broad conscience…