Bill Text: IL SB1564 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. Makes changes in the Section concerning findings and policy. Defines "access to care and information protocols" and "material information". Provides that notwithstanding any other law, a health care facility, or any physician or health care personnel working in the facility, may refuse to permit, perform, assist in, counsel about, suggest, recommend, refer for, or participate in health care services because of a conscience-based objection only if the refusal occurs in accordance with written access to care and information protocols designed to ensure that (1) the patient receives material information in a timely fashion; and (2) the refusal will not impair the patient's health by causing delay of or inability to access the refused health care service. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to prevent a health care facility from requiring that physicians or health care personnel working in the facility comply with access to care and information protocols. Makes other changes in Sections concerning: (i) discrimination by employers or institutions; and (ii) liability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 36-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-07-29 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0690 [SB1564 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB1564-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Health Care Right of Conscience Act is
amended by changing Sections 2, 3, 6, and 9 and by adding
Sections 6.1 and 6.2 as follows:
(745 ILCS 70/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5302)
Sec. 2. Findings and policy. The General Assembly finds and
declares that people and organizations hold different beliefs
about whether certain health care services are morally
acceptable. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to
respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who
refuse to obtain, receive or accept, or who are engaged in, the
delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health care
services and medical care whether acting individually,
corporately, or in association with other persons; and to
prohibit all forms of discrimination, disqualification,
coercion, disability or imposition of liability upon such
persons or entities by reason of their refusing to act contrary
to their conscience or conscientious convictions in providing,
paying for, or refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver,
pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and
medical care. It is also the public policy of the State of

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Illinois to ensure that patients receive timely access to
information and medically appropriate care.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
(745 ILCS 70/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5303)
Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
context clearly otherwise requires:
(a) "Health care" means any phase of patient care,
including but not limited to, testing; diagnosis; prognosis;
ancillary research; instructions; family planning,
counselling, referrals, or any other advice in connection with
the use or procurement of contraceptives and sterilization or
abortion procedures; medication; or surgery or other care or
treatment rendered by a physician or physicians, nurses,
paraprofessionals or health care facility, intended for the
physical, emotional, and mental well-being of persons;
(b) "Physician" means any person who is licensed by the
State of Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987;
(c) "Health care personnel" means any nurse, nurses' aide,
medical school student, professional, paraprofessional or any
other person who furnishes, or assists in the furnishing of,
health care services;
(d) "Health care facility" means any public or private
hospital, clinic, center, medical school, medical training
institution, laboratory or diagnostic facility, physician's
office, infirmary, dispensary, ambulatory surgical treatment

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center or other institution or location wherein health care
services are provided to any person, including physician
organizations and associations, networks, joint ventures, and
all other combinations of those organizations;
(e) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral
convictions arising from belief in and relation to God, or
which, though not so derived, arises from a place in the life
of its possessor parallel to that filled by God among adherents
to religious faiths; and
(f) "Health care payer" means a health maintenance
organization, insurance company, management services
organization, or any other entity that pays for or arranges for
the payment of any health care or medical care service,
procedure, or product; and .
(g) "Undue delay" means unreasonable delay that causes
impairment of the patient's health.
The above definitions include not only the traditional
combinations and forms of these persons and organizations but
also all new and emerging forms and combinations of these
persons and organizations.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
(745 ILCS 70/6) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5306)
Sec. 6. Duty of physicians and other health care personnel.
Nothing in this Act shall relieve a physician from any duty,
which may exist under any laws concerning current standards, of

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normal medical practice or care practices and procedures, to
inform his or her patient of the patient's condition,
prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks and benefits of
treatment options, provided, however, that such physician
shall be under no duty to perform, assist, counsel, suggest,
recommend, refer or participate in any way in any form of
medical practice or health care service that is contrary to his
or her conscience.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to relieve a
physician or other health care personnel from obligations under
the law of providing emergency medical care.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
(745 ILCS 70/6.1 new)
Sec. 6.1. Access to care and information protocols. All
health care facilities shall adopt written access to care and
information protocols that are designed to ensure that
conscience-based objections do not cause impairment of
patients' health and that explain how conscience-based
objections will be addressed in a timely manner to facilitate
patient health care services. The protections of Sections 4, 5,
7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this Act only apply if conscience-based
refusals occur in accordance with these protocols. These
protocols must, at a minimum, address the following:
(1) The health care facility, physician, or health care
personnel shall inform a patient of the patient's

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condition, prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks
and benefits of the treatment options in a timely manner,
consistent with current standards of medical practice or
care.
(2) When a health care facility, physician, or health
care personnel is unable to permit, perform, or participate
in a health care service that is a diagnostic or treatment
option requested by a patient because the health care
service is contrary to the conscience of the health care
facility, physician, or health care personnel, then the
patient shall either be provided the requested health care
service by others in the facility or be notified that the
health care will not be provided and be referred,
transferred, or given information in accordance with
paragraph (3).
(3) If requested by the patient or the legal
representative of the patient, the health care facility,
physician, or health care personnel shall: (i) refer the
patient to, or (ii) transfer the patient to, or (iii)
provide in writing information to the patient about other
health care providers who they reasonably believe may offer
the health care service the health care facility,
physician, or health personnel refuses to permit, perform,
or participate in because of a conscience-based objection.
(4) If requested by the patient or the legal
representative of the patient, the health care facility,

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physician, or health care personnel shall provide copies of
medical records to the patient or to another health care
professional or health care facility designated by the
patient in accordance with Illinois law, without undue
delay.
(745 ILCS 70/6.2 new)
Sec. 6.2. Permissible acts related to access to care and
information protocols. Nothing in this Act shall be construed
to prevent a health care facility from requiring that
physicians or health care personnel working in the facility
comply with access to care and information protocols that
comply with the provisions of this Act.
(745 ILCS 70/9) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5309)
Sec. 9. Liability. No person, association, or corporation,
which owns, operates, supervises, or manages a health care
facility shall be civilly or criminally liable to any person,
estate, or public or private entity by reason of refusal of the
health care facility to permit or provide any particular form
of health care service which violates the facility's conscience
as documented in its ethical guidelines, mission statement,
constitution, bylaws, articles of incorporation, regulations,
or other governing documents.
Nothing in this Act act shall be construed so as to relieve
a physician, or other health care personnel, or a health care

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facility from obligations under the law of providing emergency
medical care.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)