Ohio bill targets medical discrimination
The bill could have significant impact on people like 12-year-old Adaline Deal, who is being denied a life-saving heart transplant because she hasn't taken a potentially dangerous covid "vaccine."
An Ohio bill introduced this week would prohibit discrimination against an individual for the refusal of certain medical interventions—including vaccines and experimental injections—for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions.
HB112, the Conscientious Right to Refuse Act, was introduced February 18 by Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-45) and Beth Lear (R-61). The bill is cosponsored by 27 of the 65 republican representatives in the chamber. My representative, Mike Dovilla (R-17), is not one of them.
The legislation would:
prohibit discrimination of any kind for adults and emancipated minors who refuse any vaccine, pharmaceutical, biologic, facial covering (that is not being used for surgery purposes) or a medical device used to track or store medical, financial or information, due to a conscientious or religious objection;
prohibit refusal of medical care or transplant services to children whose parents decline vaccination for conscientious or religious objection.
According to Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom (OAMF), the legislation was introduced during the previous legislative session by Gross and former Rep. Scott Wiggam as Ohio HB319. The bill received four opposition testimonies and 78 proponent testimonies, including proponent testimonies from organizations like National Vaccine Information Center, Cleveland Right to Life and Ohio Christian Alliance. The bill was voted out of the Ohio House Health Provider Services Committee by a 7-3 vote on December 11, 2024. The bill expired without approval on December 31, 2024.
OAMF said HB319 was a rewritten iteration of HB 248, which was introduced in the 134th General Assembly. HB248 received the most written proponent testimonies of any piece of legislation in Ohio history. Legislators received nearly a thousand written testimonies for HB248, multiple thousands of phone calls, and tens of thousands of emails in favor of the legislation before it died, OAMF said.
In the legislation, a business, employer, including an administrator or supervisor, health care provider, health plan issuer, hospital, institution, nursing home, political subdivision, private college, public official, residential care facility, state agency or state institution of higher education shall not do any of the following based on an individual's refusal of any biologic; DNA-based product; drug; facial covering; gene editing technology; medical device used to track or store health, financial or personal information; pharmaceutical; RNA-based product; or vaccine for reasons of conscience; including religious convictions:
deny employment to the individual or terminate the individual's employment;
deny a service, including medical care or a public service, to the individual;
deny the individual access to commerce;
segregate the individual;
penalize the individual or use financial coercion against the individual;
treat the individual differently than an individual who accepted the facial coverage or medical intervention.
A person who encounters such discrimination may petition a court for injunctive relief or a declaratory judgment, or bring a private civil action for money damages in a court against the offending business, employer, including an administrator or supervisor, health care provider, health plan issuer, hospital, institution, nursing home, political subdivision, private college, public official, residential care facility, state agency or state institution of higher education.
The bill could have significant impact on the lives of thousands of people and family members like Adaline Deal, a 12-year old girl who is being denied a life-saving heart transplant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital because she has not taken a potentially dangerous covid vaccine. Adaline is a distant relative of Vice President J.D. Vance.
Likewise, Ken Long is being denied a heart transplant at Cincinnati Christ Hospital because of his refusal to be vaccinated.