Bill's Comment Page

Michigan passes discriminatory health legislation - aimed mainly at gays it seems

According to a report from RainbowNetwork, referring to legislation passed Wednesday by the Michigan House :

"The bill allows health care workers to refuse service to anyone on moral, ethical or religious grounds."

This seems a very widely-drawn bill which could be used to deny treatment to almost anyone on almost any grounds. The report says that as the bill was passed "dozens of Catholics looked on from the gallery". It seems that homosexuals may be their target, presumably because they consider homeosexuality to be 'immoral'.

White collar crime - don't like the 'ethics' of a person who has just defrauded clients? Sorry, no treatment for you, matey!

Some Catholics seem to think that 'Jews killed Christ'. Sorry, no treatment for you, matey!

Some people think women shouldn't be able to be priests or ministers of religion. You think they should be allowed to? Sorry, no treatment for you, matey!

The only let-out seems to be that emergency treatment cannot be refused. Other than that, 24 hours notice of a claim under the Conscientious Objector Policy Act by a health worker seems to be all that is required.

The bill now proceeds to the Michigan Senate, which the report advises is also controlled by the Republican Party, for its scrutiny.

Am I missing something here? Can what is a member state of supposedly the world's greatest democracy really be in process of passing this kind of legislation? Will people affected by it have to wear some kind of distinguishing mark, or will they be 'branded' in some way to ease recognition? Utterly deplorable!