Medical Discrimination Now Legal in Florida

[PGen98]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill legalizing anti-LGBTQ+ medical discrimination

The law allows any medical provider or insurer to deny care based on "ethical, moral, or religious beliefs...

www.lgbtqnation.com

The law allows any medical provider — including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, pharmacists, mental health professionals, lab technicians, nursing home workers, and hospital administrators — as well as insurance companies and payment entities, the right to deny care on the basis of any conscientious objection. This care can include refusing to conduct research and recordkeeping or denying medical tests, diagnoses, referrals, medications, and therapy, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) notes.

The newly signed law says denial of care can’t be based on a patient’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, but it provides no protections on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, the law also allows healthcare employers to discriminate in hiring and bars medical boards from disciplining doctors for spreading misinformation, essentially forcing employers to keep workers who refuse to do their jobs, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) noted.

In a statement, the HRC said the newly signed law “creates a license to discriminate by allowing healthcare employers to discriminate in hiring, and it bars medical Boards from disciplining doctors for spreading misinformation.”

Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU of Florida, wrote, “This bill is shocking in its breadth, vagueness, and government overreach into the private sector and regulated businesses. It goes far beyond any alleged claims of religious freedom.”

Gross notes that anyone in the medical field — including at public and private schools, colleges, and universities — could choose to deny service to someone they personally dislike. Medical workers could refuse to assist in an active medical emergency, such as helping an unwed mother to give birth. Medical office clerks could refuse to return patient calls, and pharmacists could refuse to dispense contraceptives or medications to heal sexually transmitted infections, citing their “ethical” or “moral” beliefs.

Well done, Florida...hatred is legal.

 

[Gizmo]

What an honest load of shit. Florida is so pathetic.

 

[Webster]

*sighs* There's a reason the two prongs of religious freedom - (1) the prohibition on the state establishment of religion and (2) protecting an individual's right to practice their religious beliefs free of govt.-backed discrimination - are enshrined in the First Amendment; unfortunately, more and more people are beginning to push back agst. the Left. Case in point: Florida's SB 1580.

American Family News: Medical 'authoritarianism' smacked down in Sunshine State

Florida is now among a small group of states protecting medical professionals from being forced to participate in services that violate their conscience.

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) signed Senate Bill 1580 into law on Thursday. It protects the right of medical professionals not to be forced to violate their oaths to do no harm. In other words, doctors and nurses cannot be forced to perform procedures such as abortion or assisted suicide against their conscience. In a press release, DeSantis stated: "Our early actions during the pandemic protected Floridians and their freedoms. We protected the rights of Floridians to make decisions for themselves and their children and rejected COVID theater, narratives, and hysteria in favor of truth and data. These expanded protections will help ensure that medical authoritarianism does not take root in Florida."

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, weighing in on the new law, said it "advance(s) the cause of public health and individual autonomy in medical decisions. From empowering patients to safeguarding children in schools, Florida continues to enshrine individual liberty and lead with common sense."

Attorney Stephanie Nichols of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), who focuses on legislation to protect medical conscience rights, calls it a great step in the right direction for protecting quality of care for Floridians. "Doctors and nurses have constitutional rights just like other Americans, and their freedom should be respected and protected as well," Nichols tells AFN. "Furthermore, who wants a doctor or a nurse without a conscience caring for their family? We need to protect conscientious people in the medical profession."

Florida is now the seventh state to pass similar legislation. "Ohio has had a lawsuit filed against their medical conscience bill, but that lawsuit was filed approximately one year ago and has not seen movement," the attorney notes. "It's a losing battle to challenge constitutional rights for doctors and nurses."

Senate Bill 1580 was sponsored by Republican State Senators Jay Trumbull (District 02) and W. Keith Perry (District 09).

 

[KenDaGamer]

 

[Nebulous]

Sounds like the law gives medical professionals the ability to decide who and what they want to treat at any given moment. Here's hoping a majority of the people working in that profession there decide to do the right thing and care for the people who need it, no matter who they are.

 

[Daltonio]

One of my least favorite things about being in Florida is having to hear about DeSantis so much.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

@Ravenfreak you are not gonna like this news 👿

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will announce his 2024 presidential bid in an online appearance with Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday.

Ron DeSantis to launch 2024 presidential bid on Twitter

The 44-year-old Florida governor is set to sit down for a live discussion on Elon Musk's platform.

www.bbc.co.uk

Mr Trump is no longer an active user of Twitter, although his account was re-instated in November after it was removed in the wake of the 6 January riots at the US Capitol.

Instead, Mr Trump uses his own platform, Truth Social, where he has frequently launched broadsides against Mr DeSantis.

Twitter has significantly more active users than Truth Social, potentially giving the DeSantis campaign an opportunity for more publicity.

We'll see whether this medical discrimination earns Desantis condemnation or support!

If you had to choose, who'd you prefer - Desantis or Trump? That's assuming you guys prefer Biden out of the 3 lol... though no MP is perfect. It's reality.

 

[Dee]

This is very terrifying and I don't live in the state. I hate hearing about DeSantis as much as the next person, but I fear for the laws coming into place and the people it WILL and already has affected. This guy needs to be heave-ho'd out of there like yesterday.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

This is very terrifying and I don't live in the state. I hate hearing about DeSantis as much as the next person, but I fear for the laws coming into place and the people it WILL and already has affected. This guy needs to be heave-ho'd out of there like yesterday.

Yeah it's bad. Who'd you say you support in the US election if you refer to my above post?

 

[Dee]

Yeah it's bad. Who'd you say you support in the US election if you refer to my above post?

I mean, I'm more of an AOC/Bernie kinda gal, if that gives you any idea of my preferences. Unfortunately, they would never, at this point in time, come out on top.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

I mean, I'm more of an AOC/Bernie kinda gal, if that gives you any idea of my preferences. Unfortunately, they would never, at this point in time, come out on top.

Don't even know what you're talking about, sorry m8 lol

 

[Nebulous]

One of my least favorite things about being in Florida is having to hear about DeSantis so much.

I'll bet, I am on the complete opposite side of the country and I hear about him too much.

This is very terrifying and I don't live in the state. I hate hearing about DeSantis as much as the next person, but I fear for the laws coming into place and the people it WILL and already has affected. This guy needs to be heave-ho'd out of there like yesterday.

He sure does!

 

[Dee]

Don't even know what you're talking about, sorry m8 lol

Let's just say they're too far left and not moderate enough to even be considered.

 

[MrDawn]

This is bullshit. The fact that you could get rejected and die just because the doctor doesn't like you for some stupid reason is really irritating. That law needs to be repealed immediately.

 

[PGen98]

This is bullshit. The fact that you could get rejected and die just because the doctor doesn't like you for some stupid reason is really irritating. That law needs to be repealed immediately.

Wouldn't be surprised to see this adopted in other states, too, sadly. The ones that have already passed laws of a similar nature will now have no barrier to stop them expanding the reach of their hate bills.

 

[MrDawn]

Wouldn't be surprised to see this adopted in other states, too, sadly. The ones that have already passed laws of a similar nature will now have no barrier to stop them expanding the reach of their hate bills.

Using this as an example, It's sad to say that this is exactly what the Nazi's did. If you were a Jew, you were denied basic healthcare. It's sad to see Florida has stooped so low.

In addition, the hospital was no longer allowed to admit patients (even Jewish patients) whose treatment was financed by community funds. In July, only 180 of the 380 beds were still occupied. As a result, doctors and nurses were under-utilized. At the same time, there was an increase in doctors who had been dismissed elsewhere, partly because of the prohibition of 7 April 1933 for Jews to work in the public service (doctors in publicly funded hospitals were also civil servants). Several highly qualified doctors came to work in the Jewish hospital. However, a considerable increase in staff was avoided because several doctors left Germany and emigrated.

It was not until 1938 that anti-Semitic government policy became a real threat to the hospital's survival. In March of that year, the legal status of the Berlin Jüdische Gemeinde (the representation of the Jewish community) was abolished. The Gemeinde, which financed the hospital, had to find other sources of money in order for the hospital in Berlin to survive. These were found, among other things, in the form of donations from Jews abroad. In addition to keeping the hospital financed, the money also managed to keep schools open to Jewish children (who were no longer welcome in public schools) and to provide welfare work for needy Jews.

Jewish hospital in Berlin during the Nazi period - TracesOfWar.com

www.tracesofwar.com

 

[PGen98]

Yep, history repeating itself over and over again. I might be wrong here, but wasn't Florida also one of the main hubs of the eugenics movement, aimed at sterilizing those they deem unfit for reproducing, performing horrifying procedures on people they deemed unworthy. So people who were not white, had medical or mental deficiencies, certain religious backgrounds, even those below a level of income were brutally sterilized.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Yep, history repeating itself over and over again. I might be wrong here, but wasn't Florida also one of the main hubs of the eugenics movement, aimed at sterilizing those they deem unfit for reproducing, performing horrifying procedures on people they deemed unworthy. So people who were not white, had medical or mental deficiencies, certain religious backgrounds, even those below a level of income were brutally sterilized.

geez never heard of this. When did this happen? I know nothing about US history

Thanks for sharing buddy !

 

[PGen98]

geez never heard of this. When did this happen? I know nothing about US history

Thanks for sharing buddy !

I think it was the early 20th century, but I'm drawing a bit of blank there, will double check when I'm at my desk

 

[Scarlet Rose]

geez never heard of this. When did this happen? I know nothing about US history

Thanks for sharing buddy !

I am not sure about the particular states that were involved, but this is something which I have also come across in my readings too. As @PGen98 identified it was people who had the misfortune of belonging to socially undesirable groups found themselves the result of an active political campaign to remove their existence from the US. People would be visiting hospitals for unrelated reasons and without their consent or knowledge they would be sterilized. It was based on a biological determinist understanding of society that the "quality" of a person was determined solely by their biology. Things like wealth, intelligence, morality and health were said to be reflective of the quality of a person's genetic stocks. This wasn't a well kept secret but was enacted through state level legislation in order to "protect" the moral community. It is something I always have at the back of my mind when people claim that state rights supersede the rights of marginalized people. As history shows that states will literally resort to genocide when they are given the freedom to do so.