Committee hears Medical Ethics Defense Act; sponsors and opponents clash over scope; bill carried over for further work

House Bill 222, introduced for committee consideration by Representative Otman, would expand statutory protections for conscience-based refusals by health-care professionals and institutions. Backers said the measure protects religious and moral liberty for doctors, nurses and other clinical staff and prevents employers or regulators from compelling participation in procedures that violate an individual’s conscience.

Sponsor and presenters described the bill as procedure-limited and not patient-directed. Dr. Dean Bartholomew, a family physician who testified in support, said the measure would protect clinicians and trainees: “Every American should have the freedom to live according to their ethical and religious beliefs,” he told the committee. Co-presenter Gregory Shuffin (online) and other backers said the statute would apply to discrete procedures rather than removing care for…