Pritzker signs change to Health Care Right of Conscience Act
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed a controversial amendment that bars the use of moral objections as a reason for refusing to comply with workplace COVID-19 requirements, including those for vaccines or testing.
Pritzker, who was in Glasgow, Scotland, as of Monday morning for the United Nations' climate change conference, signed the amendment to the state's Health Care Right of Conscience Act at the request of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
The amendment passed the General Assembly a week and half ago.
The act, on the books since 1998, was originally designed to protect doctors, nurses and other health care providers who refused to perform medical procedures - such as abortions - that they're opposed to. The new language seeks to clarify that the right of conscience objection does not apply to COVID-19 requirements.
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