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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to protections of medical conscience; 2
providing legislative findings and intent; creating s. 3
381.00321, F.S.; providing definitions; authorizing 4
health care providers and health care payors to opt 5
out of participation in or payment for certain health 6
care services by conscience -based objections without 7
discrimination or threat of adverse actions; requiring 8
a health care provider to notify a patient and the 9
provider's supervisor or employer or educational 10
institution, if applicable, when the provider declines 11
to participate in certain health care services on the 12
basis of a conscience -based objection; providing for 13
civil remedies, damages, and immunit y from liability; 14
creating s. 456.61, F.S.; prohibiting certain boards 15
and the Department of Health from taking disciplinary 16
action against, or denying a license to, an individual 17
based on the use of free speech based on a conscience -18
based objection; provi ding for severability; providing 19
an effective date. 20
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
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Section 1. The Legislature finds that the right of 24
conscience is central to the practice of medicine. It is the 25
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intent of the Legislatur e to provide medical conscience rights 26
for health care providers and health care payors to ensure that 27
they can care for patients consistent with their moral, ethical, 28
and religious convictions. Further, it is the intent of the 29
Legislature that licensed he alth care providers and health care 30
payors shall be free from threat of discrimination for providing 31
conscience-based health care. 32
Section 2. Section 381.00321, Florida Statutes, is created 33
to read: 34
381.00321 Rights of conscience of health care provi ders 35
and health care payors. — 36
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 37
(a) "Adverse action" means the discharge, suspension, 38
transfer, demotion, discipline, suspension, exclusion, 39
revocation of privileges, withholding of bonuses, or reductio n 40
in salary or benefits; any action that may negatively impact the 41
advancement or graduation of a student, including, but not 42
limited to, the withholding of scholarship funds; or any other 43
disciplinary or retaliatory action. 44
(b) "Agency" means the Agency for Health Care 45
Administration. 46
(c) "Business entity" has the same meaning as provided in 47
s. 606.03. The term also includes a charitable organization as 48
defined in s. 496.404 and a corporation not for profit as 49
defined in s. 617.01401. 50
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(d) "Conscience-based objection" means an objection based 51
on a sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical belief. 52
Conscience, with respect to entities, is determined by reference 53
to the entities' governing documents; any published ethical, 54
moral, or religious guidelines or directives; mission 55
statements; constitutions; articles of incorporation; bylaws; 56
policies; or regulations. 57
(e) "Department" means the Department of Health. 58
(f) "Educational institution" means a public or private 59
school, college, or university. 60
(g) "Health care payor" means a health insurer, an 61
employer, a health care sharing organization, a health plan, a 62
health maintenance organization, a management services 63
organization, or any other entity that pays for, or arranges for 64
the payment of any heal th care service, whether such payment is 65
in whole or in part. 66
(h) "Health care provider" means: 67
1. Any person or entity licensed under chapter 394; 68
chapter 400; chapter 401; chapter 457; chapter 458; chapter 459; 69
chapter 460; chapter 461; chapter 462; chapter 463; chapter 464; 70
chapter 465; chapter 466; chapter 467; part I, part II, part 71
III, part IV, part V, part X, part XIII, or part XIV of chapter 72
468; chapter 478; chapter 480; part I, part II, or part III of 73
chapter 483; chapter 484; chapter 486; cha pter 490; or chapter 74
491; or 75
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2. Any provider as defined in s. 408.803, a continuing care 76
facility licensed under chapter 651, or a pharmacy permitted 77
under chapter 465. 78
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The term includes a student enrolled in an educational 80
institution who is seeking to become a health care provider. 81
(i) "Health care service" means medical procedures, 82
medical care, or medical services provided to a patient at any 83
time over the entire course of treatment, or medical research, 84
including, but not limited to, testing; diagn osis; referral; 85
dispensing or administering any drug, medication, or device; 86
psychological therapy or counseling; research; prognosis; 87
therapy; recordmaking procedures; notes related to treatment; 88
set up or performance of a surgery or procedure; or any oth er 89
care or services performed or provided by any health care 90
provider. 91
(j) "Participate" or "participation" means to pay for or 92
take part in any way in providing or facilitating any health 93
care service or any part of such service. 94
(2) RIGHTS OF CONSCIE NCE.—A health care provider or health 95
care payor has the right to opt out of participation in or 96
payment for any health care service on the basis of a 97
conscience-based objection. 98
(a) A health care provider who is a person must: 99
1. Document in the patie nt's medical record that the 100
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health care provider gave verbal or written notice of his or her 101
conscience-based objection to the patient at the time of such 102
objection or as soon as practicable thereafter. 103
2. At the time of objection or as soon as practica ble 104
thereafter, provide written notification of his or her 105
conscience-based objection to the health care provider's 106
supervisor or employer, if the health care provider has a 107
supervisor or employer. 108
3. Provide written notice of his or her conscience -based 109
objection if such provider is a student to his or her 110
educational institution at the time of the conscience -based 111
objection or as soon as practicable thereafter. 112
(b) The exercise of the right of medical conscience is 113
limited to conscience -based objections to a specific health care 114
service. This section does not waive or modify any duty a health 115
care provider or health care payor may have to provide or pay 116
for other health care services that do not violate their rights 117
of conscience or any duty a health c are provider may have to 118
provide informed consent to a patient in accordance with general 119
law. Additionally, a health care payor may not decline to pay 120
for a health care service it is contractually obligated to cover 121
during the plan year. 122
(c) A health care provider may not be discriminated 123
against or suffer adverse action because the health care 124
provider declined to participate in or pay for a health care 125
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service on the basis of a conscience -based objection. 126
(3) SPEECH AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. — 127
(a) A health care provider or health care payor may not be 128
discriminated against or suffer any adverse action in any manner 129
with respect to: 130
1. Providing or causing to be provided or intending to 131
provide or cause to be provided to their employer, the Att orney 132
General, the Department of Health, any other state agency 133
charged with protecting health care rights of conscience, the 134
United States Department of Health and Human Services, the 135
Office of Civil Rights, or any other federal agency charged with 136
protecting health care rights of conscience information relating 137
to any violation of or any act or omission the health care 138
provider or health care payor reasonably believes to be a 139
violation of any provision of this act; 140
2. Testifying or intending to testify in a proceeding 141
concerning such violation; or 142
3. Assisting or participating or intending to assist or 143
participate in such a proceeding. 144
(b) Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited by 145
law, a health care provider or health care payor may not be 146
discriminated against in any manner for disclosing information 147
that the health care provider or health care payor reasonably 148
believes constitutes: 149
1. A violation of any law, rule, or regulation; 150
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2. A violation of any ethical guidelines for the provisio n 151
of any medical procedure or service; or 152
3. A practice or method of treatment that may put patient 153
health at risk or present a substantial and specific danger to 154
public health or safety. 155
(4) CIVIL REMEDIES. —A health care provider or health care 156
payor may bring a civil cause of action for appropriate damages, 157
an injunction, or any other appropriate relief in law or equity, 158
including reasonable attorney fees, for any violation of this 159
act. 160
(5) IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. —A health care provider or 161
health care payor may not be civilly liable for declining to 162
participate in a health care service on the basis of a 163
conscience-based objection. However, this section does not limit 164
the applicability of chapter 766 to any health care service 165
performed by a health c are provider. 166
(6) EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT AND ACTIVE LABOR ACT. —This 167
section does not override the requirement to provide emergency 168
medical treatment to all patients as set forth in the Emergency 169
Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 1 395dd. 170
Section 3. Section 456.61, Florida Statutes, is created to 171
read: 172
456.61 Use of free speech by a health care practitioner; 173
prohibition.— 174
(1) A board within the jurisdiction of the department, or 175
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the department if there is no board, may not ta ke disciplinary 176
action against, or deny a license to, an individual because the 177
individual has spoken or written publicly about a health care 178
service or public policy, including, but not limited to, speech 179
through the use of a social media platform, as def ined in s. 180
501.2041, provided such individual is not providing medical 181
advice or treatment to a specific patient and provided such 182
speech does not violate any other applicable law. 183
(2) If a specialty board or other recognizing agency 184
approved by any boar d within the jurisdiction of the department 185
revokes the certification of an individual because the 186
individual has spoken or written publicly about a health care 187
service or public policy including, but not limited to, speech 188
through the use of a social medi a platform, as defined in s. 189
501.2041, and provided such individual is not providing medical 190
advice or treatment to a specific patient and provided such 191
speech does not separately violate any other applicable law, the 192
board within the jurisdiction of the d epartment may revoke the 193
approval of such specialty board or other recognizing agency. 194
Section 4. If any provision of this act or the application 195
thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 196
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of 197
this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision 198
or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 199
severable. 200
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Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 201