Bill > S47

This bill, titled the "Defense of Conscience in Health Care Act," requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue a new regulation within 6 months of enactment that reinstates and protects conscience rights for healthcare workers. Specifically, the bill mandates that HHS create a final rule identical or materially equivalent to a previous rule from July 22, 2019, which protected healthcare workers' statutory conscience rights. This means the regulation would allow healthcare professionals to decline participation in medical procedures that conflict with their personal, moral, or religious beliefs, such as abortion or gender-affirming care. The bill also stipulates that the new rule would supersede any existing contradictory regulations, effectively ensuring that healthcare workers cannot be compelled to perform medical services that they find objectionable on conscience grounds. The legislation broadly defines "Federal conscience and anti-discrimination laws" by referencing the previous 2019 rule, which provides legal protection for healthcare workers' right to refuse participation in specific medical procedures based on their personal convictions.

Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/47/all-info