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| Public Act 099-0690 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning civil law.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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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:
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(745 ILCS 70/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5302)
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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
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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
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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
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medical care. It is also the public policy of the State of | ||||
Illinois to ensure that patients receive timely access to | ||
information and medically appropriate care.
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(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
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(745 ILCS 70/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5303)
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Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the | ||
context clearly
otherwise
requires:
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(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,
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paraprofessionals or health care facility, intended for the
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physical,
emotional, and mental well-being of persons;
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(b) "Physician" means any person who is licensed by the | ||
State of Illinois under the
Medical Practice Act of 1987;
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(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;
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(d) "Health care facility" means any public or private
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hospital, clinic,
center, medical school, medical training | ||
institution, laboratory or
diagnostic
facility, physician's | ||
office, infirmary, dispensary, ambulatory surgical
treatment | ||
center or other institution or location wherein health care
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services are provided to any person, including physician | ||
organizations and
associations, networks, joint ventures, and | ||
all
other combinations of those organizations;
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(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
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(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,
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procedure, or product; and .
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(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.
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(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
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(745 ILCS 70/6) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5306)
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Sec. 6. Duty of physicians and other health care personnel. | ||
Nothing in
this Act shall relieve a physician from any duty,
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which may exist under any laws concerning current standards, of | ||
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,
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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.
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
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(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 | ||
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, | ||
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.
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(745 ILCS 70/9) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5309)
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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.
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Nothing in this Act act shall be construed so as to relieve | ||
a physician,
or other health care personnel, or a health care | ||
facility from obligations under the law
of providing
emergency | ||
medical care.
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(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
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