Abstract
In Illinois, under the amended Healthcare Right of Conscience Act (“the Act”), health care providers will be required to refer patients for services they may find morally objectionable. This could include controversial services such as abortion, sterilization, and providing emergency contraception. The amended Act arguably compels health care providers to provide information they may not have given because of a conscientious objection. Senate Bill 1564 (“SB 1564”) amended the Act.
As amended, the Act requires health care providers who refuse to perform a service to refer the patient to a facility that may offer the service. Opponents of SB 1564 have questioned its constitutionality, while proponents argue SB 1564 will ensure women are given medically accurate information even if a healthcare provider is unable to provide the care they need. Prior to its effective date, the constitutionality of SB 1564 was challenged. The lawsuit raises the question of whether this amendment runs afoul of the Illinois Constitution and Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. However, similar legislation has been challenged in federal courts across the nation as violating the federal constitution, and federal courts have taken varying approaches to analyzing constitutionality. In the context of the federal courts’ variegated approach to this important question of federal constitutional law, this Note analyzes the constitutionality of SB 1564 under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Recommended Citation
Victoria Fuller,
When Care and Conscience Conflict: Compelled Speech in the Amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act,
42
S. Ill. U. L.J.
297
(2018).
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol42/iss2/5