SB312 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Steve French

Republican

Co-Sponsors

Jimmy HolleyScott BeasonLarry DixonArthur OrrHenry Eugene “Hank” Erwin Jr.Rusty GloverPaul SanfordTrip PittmanBen H. BrooksDel MarshJ.T. WaggonerHarri Anne Smith

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Health Care Rights of Conscience Act, health care providers, institutions, and payers right to decline to perform services that violate their consciences, injunctive relief

Summary

SB312 creates a Health Care Rights of Conscience Act that lets health care providers, institutions, and payers refuse to perform or fund services that violate their conscience, with legal protections and remedies.

What This Bill Does

It gives health care providers, institutions, and payers the right to decline to participate in certain health care services that conflict with their conscience, and shields them from civil, criminal, or administrative liability for doing so. It also protects them from discrimination or disciplinary actions for declining, and provides for injunctive relief and back pay if these rights are violated. The act defines key terms and lists enumerated services; it allows institutions to use patient consent forms to reserve the right to decline. Remedies are cumulative and include court-ordered reinstatement or back pay, and the legislature can intervene in constitutional challenges.

Who It Affects

• Health care providers, health care institutions, and health care payers: they may decline to participate in certain services that violate their conscience and will receive liability and discrimination protections, plus potential injunctive relief and back pay if their rights are violated.
• Patients and the health care system: patients may encounter refusals or delays in services due to conscience-based decisions, and institutions may require a consent form from patients before admission to reserve the right to decline certain services.

Key Provisions

• Right to refuse to participate in a health care service that violates conscience, with immunity from civil, criminal, or administrative liability for such refusals.
• Protection against discrimination or disciplinary actions (including termination, transfer, loss of staff privileges, wage/benefits reductions) for declining to participate in a service.
• Institutions can decline to provide or participate in certain services and may issue a consent form to patients stating the institution reserves the right to decline; institutions are not liable for providing such consent forms.
• Payers have the right to decline to pay for or arrange payment for services that violate conscience, with liability protections and prohibitions on discrimination for declines.
• Definitions of key terms (conscience, health care provider, health care institution, health care payer, health care service, participate, pay) and a listed set of enumerated services (e.g., abortion, artificial birth control, cloning, euthanasia, stem cell research, physician-assisted suicide, sterilization, etc.).
• Remedies include injunctive relief, costs, and attorney’s fees; potential reinstatement and back pay; remedies are cumulative and may be used alongside other laws.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Health Care Providers