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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
SENATE BILL 665 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to freedom of conscience; creating
the Medical Ethics Defense Act; providing short
title; defining terms; granting certain rights to
certain medical practitioners, healthcare
institutions, or healthcare payers; limiting exercise
of certain rights; granting certain immunities;
prohibiting certain discrimination; requiring opt -in
for abortion; providing certain construction;
prohibiting and requiring certain actions by
licensing board under certain condit ions; authorizing
and prohibiting certain civil actions; prohibiting
certain defense; providing for recovery of damages
and other relief; providing severability; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -728g of Title 63, unless the re
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act may be known and cited as the “Medical Ethics Defense
Act”.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -728h of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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1. “Conscience” means the ethical, moral, or religious beliefs
or principles held by any medical practitioner, healthcare
institution, or healthcare payer. Conscience with resp ect to
institutional entities or corporate bodies, as opposed to individual
persons, is determined by reference to that entity or body ’s
governing documents including , but not limited to, any published
ethical, moral, or religious guidelines or directives; mission
statements; constitutions; articles of incorporation; bylaws;
policies; or regulations;
2. “Disclosure” means a formal or informal communication or
transmission, but does not include a communication or transmission
concerning policy decisions tha t lawfully exercise discretionary
authority unless the medical practitioner pr oviding the disclosure
or transmission reasonably believes that the disclosure or
transmission evinces:
a. any violation of any law, rule, or regulation,
b. any violation of any ethical guidelines for the
provision of any medical procedure or service, or
c. gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse
of authority, practices or methods of treatment that
may put patient health at risk, or a substantial and
specific danger to public health or safety;
3. “Discrimination” means any adverse action take n against, or
any threat of adverse action communicated to, any medical
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practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer as a
result of his, her, or its decision to decl ine to participate in a
medical procedure or service on the basis of conscience.
Discrimination includes, but is not limited to, termination of
employment; transfer from current position; demotion from current
position; adverse administrative action; reas signment to a different
shift or job title; increased administrative duties; r efusal of
staff privileges; refusal of board certification; loss of career
specialty; reduction of wages, benefits, or privileges; refusal to
award a grant, contract, or other pr ogram; refusal to provide
residency training opportunities; denial, deprivation, or
disqualification of licensure; withholding or disqualifying from
financial aid and other assistance; impediments to creating any
healthcare institution or payer or expandin g or improving such
healthcare institution or payer; impediments to acquiring,
associating with, or merging with any other healthcare institution
or payer; the threat thereof with regard to any of the preceding; or
any other penalty, disciplinary, or retal iatory action, whether
executed or threatened. However, discrimination excludes the
negotiation or purchase of insurance by a nongovernment entity;
4. “Medical procedure or service ” means medical care provided
to any patient at any time over the entire c ourse of treatment, or
medical research. This includes, but is not limited to , testing;
diagnosis; referral; dispensing and/or administering any drug,
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medication, or device; psychological therapy or counseling;
research; prognosis; therapy; record -making procedures; notes
related to treatment; set up or performance of a surgery or
procedure; or any other care or service performed or provided by any
medical practitioner including, but not limited to, physicians,
nurses, allied health professionals, paraprof essionals, contractors,
or employees of healthcare institutions;
5. “Healthcare institution” means any organization,
corporation, partnership, association, agency, network, sole
proprietorship, joint venture, or other entity that provides medical
procedures or services. The term includes, but is not limited to,
any public or private hospital, clinic, medical center, physician
organization, professional association, ambulatory surgical center,
private physician’s office, pharmacy, nursing home, medical sch ool,
nursing school, medical training facility, or any other entity or
location in which medical procedures or services are performed;
6. “Healthcare payer” means any employer, health plan, health
maintenance organization, insurance company, management se rvices
organization, or any other entity that pays for , or arranges for the
payment of, any medical procedure or service provided to any
patient, whether that payment is made in whole or in part;
7. “Medical practitioner ” means any person or individual wh o
may be or is asked to participate in any way in any medical
procedure or service. This includes, but is not limited to,
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doctors, nurse practitioners, physician ’s assistants, nurses,
nurses’ aides, allied health professionals, medical assistants,
hospital employees, clinic employees, nursing home employees,
pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and employees, medical school
faculty and students, nursing school faculty and students,
psychology and counseling faculty and students, medical researchers,
laboratory technicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors,
mental health profess ionals, social workers, or any other person who
facilitates or participates in the provision of a medical procedure
or service;
8. “Participate” in a medical procedure or servic e means to
provide, perform, assist with, facilitate, refer for, counsel for,
advise with regard to, admit for the purposes of providing, or take
part in any way in providing any medical procedure or service, or
any form of such service; and
9. “Pay” or “payment” means to pay for, contract for, arrange
for the payment of (whether i n whole or in part), reimburse, or
remunerate.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -728i of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Freedom of Conscience. A medical practitioner, healthcare
institution, or healthcare payer has the right not to participate in
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or pay for any medical procedure or service which violates his, her,
or its conscience.
B. Limitations. The exercise of the ri ght of conscience is
limited to conscience -based objections to a particular medical
procedure or service. This section may not be construed to waive or
modify any duty a health care practitioner, health care institution,
or health care payer may have to provide other medical procedures or
services that do not violate the practitioner ’s, institution’s, or
payer’s conscience.
C. Immunity from Liability. No medical practitioner,
healthcare institution, or healthcare payer shall be civilly,
criminally, or administratively liable for exercising his, her, or
its right of conscience not to participate in or pay for a medical
procedure or service. No healthcare institution shall be civ illy,
criminally, or administratively liable for the exercise of
conscience rights not to participate in a medical procedure or
service by a medical practitioner employed, contracted, or granted
admitting privileges by the healthcare institution.
D. Discrimination. No medical practitioner, healthcare
institution, or healthcare pay er shall be discriminated against in
any manner as a result of his, her, or its decision to decline to
participate in or pay for a medical procedure or service on the
basis of conscience.
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E. Exception. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act
to the contrary, a religious medical practitioner, healthcare
institution, or healthcare payer that holds itself out to the public
as religious, states in its governing documents tha t it has a
religious purpose or mission, and has internal operating policies o r
procedures that implement its religious beliefs shall have the right
to make employment, staffing, contracting, and admitting privilege
decisions consistent with its religious beliefs.
F. Opt-In Required. A health care practitioner may not be
scheduled for, assigned, or requested to directly or indirectly
perform, facilitate, refer for, or participate in an abortion unless
the practitioner first affirmatively consents in writi ng to perform,
facilitate, refer for, or participate in the abortion. This
subsection does not establish a right to participate in an abortion
otherwise prohibited by law.
G. Emergency Medical Treatments. Nothing herein shall be
construed to override th e requirement to provide emergency medical
treatment to all patients set forth in 42 U.S.C. , Section 1395dd.
Medical emergencies shall be subject to the definitions and
requirements of Section 1 -731.4 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -728j of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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A. No medical practitioner shall be discriminated against in
any manner because the medical practitioner:
1. Provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or
cause to be provided to his or her employer, the Attorney General,
any state agency charged with protecting healthcare rights of
conscience, the U.S. Dep artment of Health and Human Services, Office
for Civil Rights, or any other fe deral agency charged with
protecting healthcare rights of conscience information relating to
any violation of, or any act or omission the medical practitioner
reasonably believes to be a violation of, any provision of this act;
2. Testified or is about to testify in a proceeding concerning
such violation; or
3. Assisted or participated, or is about to assist or
participate, in such a proceeding.
B. Unless the disclosure is spec ifically prohibited by law, no
medical practitioner shall be discriminated aga inst in any manner
because the medical practitioner disclosed any information that the
medical practitioner reasonably believes evinces:
1. Any violation of any law, rule, or re gulation;
2. Any violation of any ethical guidelines for the provision of
any medical procedure or service; or
3. Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of
authority, practices or methods of treatment that may put patient
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health at risk, or a substantial and specific danger to public
health or safety.
C. A licensing board may not reprimand, sanction, or revoke or
threaten to revoke a license, certificate, or registration of a
healthcare practitioner for engaging in speech or expressive
activity protected under the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, unless the licensing board demonstrates beyond a
reasonable doubt that the practitioner ’s speech was the direct cause
of physical harm to a person with whom the healthcare practit ioner
had a practitioner-patient relationship within the three (3) years
immediately preceding the incident of physical harm.
1. The licensing board must provide a medical practitioner with
any complaints it has received which may result in the revocation of
the medical practitioner ’s license, certification, or registration,
within seven (7) days after receipt of the complaint.
2. The licensing board must pay the medical practitioner an
administrative penalty of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each
day the complaint is not provided to the medical practitioner after
the specified seven (7) days.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -728k of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Civil Action for Violation of Right of Conscience. A civil
action for damages or injunctive relief , or both, may be brought by
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any medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare
payer for any violation of any provision of this act. Any
additional burden or expense on ano ther medical practitioner,
healthcare institution, or healthcare payer arising from the
exercise of the right of conscience shall not be a defense to any
violation of this act. However, no civil action may be brought
against an individual who declines to use or purchase medical
procedure or services from a specific medical practitioner,
healthcare institution, or healthcare payer for exercising the
rights granted in subsection A of Section 3 of this act.
B. Other Remedies. Any party aggrieved by any viol ation of
this act may commence a civil action and shall be entitled , upon the
finding of a violation , to recover threefold his, her, or its actual
damages sustained, along with t he costs of the action and reasonable
attorney fees. Such damages shall be cumulative and in no way
limited by any other remedies which may be available under any other
federal, state, or municipal law. A court considering such civil
action may also awar d injunctive relief, which may include, but is
not limited to, reinstatement o f a medical practitioner to his or
her previous position, reinstatement of board certification, and re -
licensure of a healthcare institution or healthcare payer.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -728l of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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Any provision of this act held to be invalid or unenforceable by
its terms, or as applied to any person or circumstance, shall be
construed so as to give it the maximum effect permitted by law,
unless such holding shall be one of utter invalidity or
unenforceability, in which event such provision shall be deemed
severable herefrom and shall not affect the remainder hereof or the
application of such provision to other persons not similarly
situated or to other, dissimilar circumstances.
SECTION 7. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
60-1-1567 DC 1/14/2025 4:45:05 PM