There's a bill wending its way through the state legislature here in Colorado that would require hospitals to let prospective patients know about any procedures or services that the hospital does not provide based on moral or religious reasons. Specifically (and this is nearly all the bill says):
A HOSPITAL LICENSED 6 PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE SHALL PROVIDE NOTICE … OF ALL SERVICES THAT THE HOSPITAL REFUSES TO PROVIDE BECAUSE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OR MORAL CONVICTIONS. THE NOTICE MUST INFORM PATIENTS OF THEIR RIGHT TO OBTAIN ANY SERVICE NOT PROVIDED BY THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OR MORAL CONVICTIONS FROM ANOTHER HOSPITAL THAT DOES PROVIDE THE SERVICE. THE HOSPITAL SHALL PROVIDE THE NOTICE REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION PRIOR TO OR AT ADMISSION OF THE PATIENT OR AS SOON AFTER ADMISSION AS IS PRACTICABLE.
The driver here, from what the sponsor says, is to inform patients who may be unfamiliar with a given hospital's policies — esp. given all the consolidation and purchases of hospitals in the state by different groups.
Now my first thought uncomfortably echoes the immediate reaction from the GOP objectors that this kind of stigmatizes hospitals that restrict such procedures and services for religious reasons. After all, what business is it of anyone else …
And then I realized, um, yeah, it is the patient's business. Isn't it? To know that the hospital they are looking at will not perform an abortion under any circumstances, or a vasectomy, or a tubal ligation, or that they won't allow a same-sex partner to visit during visiting hours, or some other service or procedure that might be expected?
And give me a break on this: "Some compared the requirements to the religious labeling used in Nazi Germany." Yes, of course, it's exactly the same, except for the part where it's completely different. There wasn't a difference in the services that Jews provided in their shops that the Nazis had to put Stars of David on their sleeves to warn their customers. That clearly wasn't the point at all.
If a hospital is making a coverage decision based on religious values, shouldn't they be willing to stand up for that, publicly?
Now, if the concern is over the identification of services not being performed for religious reasons, it wouldn't be practical to have any given hospital list all the things it doesn't do. That could be a huge list. Perhaps it might be possible to instead simply devise a standard list of procedures that one might expect a full-service hospital to provide, and then have note made of which ones a location doesn't do, without getting into the motivation behind it. That would inform the public and potential customers, too, if it were practical to do so.
Of course, someone might still be able to glean the religious basis for certain service gaps … but it's still better that someone know that before they check in rather than after, isn't it? #ddtb
Embedded Link
Colo. bill requires abortion notice from hospitals – The Denver Post
DENVER—Hospitals with religious objections to procedures such as abortions would have to tell patients in a special notice Colorados Senate approved Friday.
I didn't read the article, but I do know that I had to deliver my daughter at a different hospital than my son because I wanted a tubal ligation and the hospital I delivered my son at was a Catholic hospital. It sucked as I didn't like that hospital as much as the Catholic one as far as maternity services. Since I was having a c-section they were going to do it all at once and I didn't have much of a choice.
When I was preg with him (my son) I was seeing mid-wives affiliated with said hospital and they said that after he was born I had to find another provider because I wanted to get on BC and being a Catholic hospital they didn't do those kinds of services.
The bad part is, aside from not doing any kind of BC methods, it is one of the better hospitals in the area without having to go to the city.
Since I don't live in Colorado, I can't comment too much other than saying I think it would be almost obvious if a hospital wouldn't do certain procedures. However, if there is an issue with information I would see this as a good thing if a woman needs to plan what hospital to visit for whatever procedures she might need…like I did.