Conscience clause

"A conscience clause is a statutory provision that permits individuals or institutions to refuse to provide or to pay for medical procedures on the basis of religious or moral beliefs. While conscience clauses protect the autonomy and religious freedom of health care providers and organizations from liability for refusing to provide or fund some services, they also affect patient access." 

"Pharmacist conscience clauses are modeled on existing rules for physicians that grant doctors the right not to perform abortions." 

"The push for conscience clauses represents a dramatic new front in the culture wars. The religious right is transforming their successful fight against abortion rights (South Dakota, Alito, Roberts, Louisiana) into a fight against contraception. ... The conscience-clause movement is largely being waged in the courts by right-wing legal groups like Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice and James Dobson's Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) ...." 

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Alliance Defense Fund
 * Dominionism
 * Religious Right
 * The Bush Theocracy
 * traditional family values

Profiles

 * Conscience Clause (medical) in the Wikipedia.

Websites

 * Conscience Laws.org website.

2005

 * Stacy Forster, "Lawmakers push for 'conscience clauses'. They'd let pharmacists refuse to offer service against their beliefs," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/JSOnline, March 6, 2005.
 * Monica Davey and Pam Belluck, "Pharmacies Balk on After-Sex Pill and Widen Fight in Many States," New York Times, April 18, 2005.
 * "'Conscience clause' laws weigh moral values," ReligionLink.org, August 29, 2005.
 * Lisa M. Reed, "'Conscience clause' bill on way to state Senate. Pharmacists would not be required to dispense abortion pill," gmtoday.com, September 24, 2005.

2006

 * Jaana Goodrich, "The Conscience Clause. If anti-abortion pharmacists merit protection, then why not vegetarian workers at the deli counter?" The American Prospect, April 8, 2006.
 * Russell Shorto, "Contra-Contraception," New York Times, May 7, 2006.
 * Josh Feit, "The Drug War. Will Washington State Join Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Dakota as the Fifth State That Allows Pharmacists to Just Say No to Women?" The Stranger (Seattle, WA), June 8-14, 2006.
 * "Pharmacist Conscience Clauses: Laws and Legislation," National Conference of State Legislatures, Updated July 2006.