HOUSE BILL No. 5897


     April 16, 2002, Introduced by Rep. Stamas and referred to the Committee on Health Policy.


        A bill to allow certain health facilities to object to pro-

   viding or participating in certain procedures under certain cir-

   cumstances; to provide for protection from certain liability; and

   to provide for remedies.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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             Sec. 1.  As used in this act:

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             (a) "Health facility" means a health facility or agency as

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        defined in section 20106 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368,

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        MCL 333.20106, a private physician office, or a public or private

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        institution, teaching institution, pharmacy, corporation, part-

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        nership, or sole proprietorship that provides a health care serv-

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        ice to an individual.

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             (b) "Health care service" means the provision or withdrawal

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        of, or research or experimentation involving, a medical

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        treatment, procedure, device, medication, drug, or other


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        substance intended to affect the physical or mental condition of

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        an individual.

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             (c) "Health profession" means a vocation, calling, occupa-

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        tion, or employment performed by individuals acting pursuant to a

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        license or registration issued under article 15 of the public

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        health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.16101 to 333.18838.

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             (d) "Participate or participating" means, at a minimum, to

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        counsel, refer, perform, administer, prescribe, dispense, treat,

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        withhold, withdraw, diagnose, test, evaluate, train, research,

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        prepare, or provide material or physical assistance in a health

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        care service.

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             Sec. 2.  (1) Pursuant to this section, a health facility may

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        assert as a matter of conscience, on an ethical, moral, or reli-

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        gious ground, an objection to providing or participating in a

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        health care service.

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             (2) A health facility shall not assert an objection

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        described in subsection (1) under any of the following

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        circumstances:

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             (a) The objection is to a health care service the health

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        facility routinely provides or participates in and is based on a

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        disagreement with a member of a health profession employed by,

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        under contract to, or granted privileges by the health facility

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        regarding the medical appropriateness of a health care service

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        for a specific patient if the patient has consented to the provi-

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        sion of the health care service.

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             (b) The objection excludes an entire health profession.





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             (3) A health facility shall provide notice of an objection

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        described in subsection (1) to providing a health care service

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        through written public notice or personally in writing at the

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        time an individual seeks to obtain that health care service from

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        the health facility.

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             (4) A health facility's objection as described in subsection

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        (1) to providing or participating in a health care service shall

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        not be a basis for 1 or more of the following:

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             (a) Civil, criminal, or administrative liability.

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             (b) Eligibility discrimination against the health facility

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        in a grant, contract, or program, where providing or participat-

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        ing in the health care service is not expressly required as a

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        condition of eligibility for the grant, contract, or program.































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