AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT (Establishes the right of healthcare providers and payers to refuse to engage in medical services that violate their conscience.)

S2483

2026 -- S 2483
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LC003347
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT

Introduced By:
Senator E Morgan

Date Introduced:
February 06, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby
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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
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CHAPTER 106
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MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT
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23-106-1. Short title.

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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Medical Ethics Defense Act".
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23-106-2. Definitions.

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As used in this chapter:
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(1) "Conscience" means the ethical, moral, or religious belief or principles held by any
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medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer. Conscience with respect to
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institutional entities or corporate bodies, as opposed to individual persons, is determined by
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reference to that entity or body’s governing documents, including, but not limited to, any published
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ethical, moral or religious guidelines or directives, mission statements, constitutions, articles of
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incorporation, bylaws, policies, or regulations.
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(2) "Disclosure" means a formal or informal communication or transmission, but does not
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include a communication or transmission concerning policy decisions that lawfully exercise
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discretionary authority unless the medical practitioner providing the disclosure or transmission
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reasonably believes that the disclosure or transmission evinces:
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(i) Any violation of any law, rule, or regulation;

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(ii) Any violation of any ethical guidelines for the provision of any medical procedure or
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service; or
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(iii) Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, practices or
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methods of treatment that may put patient health at risk, or a substantial and specific danger to
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public health or safety.
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(3) "Discrimination" means any adverse action taken against, or any threat of adverse
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action communicated to, any medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer as a
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result of their decision to decline to participate in a medical procedure or service on the basis of
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conscience. Discrimination includes, but is not limited to, termination of employment; transfer from
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current position; demotion from current position; adverse administrative action; reassignment to a
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different shift or job title; increased administrative duties; refusal of staff privileges; refusal of
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board certification; loss of career specialty; reduction of wages, benefits or privileges; refusal to
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award a grant, contract or other program; refusal to provide residency training opportunities; denial,
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deprivation, or disqualification of licensure; withholding or disqualifying from financial aid and
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other assistance; impediments to creating any healthcare institution or payer or expanding or
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improving said healthcare institution or payer; impediments to acquiring, associating with, or
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merging with any other healthcare institution or payer; the threat thereof with regard to any of the
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preceding; or any other penalty, disciplinary, or retaliatory action, whether executed or threatened.
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Discrimination excludes the negotiation or purchase of insurance by a non-government entity.
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(4) "Healthcare institution" means any organization, corporation, partnership, association,
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agency, network, sole proprietorship, joint venture, or other entity that provides medical procedures
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or services. The term includes, but is not limited to, any public or private hospital, clinic, medical
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center, physician organization, professional association, ambulatory surgical center, private
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physician’s office, pharmacy, nursing home, medical school, nursing school, medical training
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facility, or any other entity or location in which medical procedures or services are performed.
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(5) "Healthcare payer" means any employer, health plan, health maintenance organization,
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insurance company, management services organization, or any other entity that pays for or arranges
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for the payment of any medical procedure or service provided to any patient, whether that payment
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is made in whole or in part.
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(6) "Medical practitioner" means any person or individual who may be or is asked to
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participate in any way in any medical procedure or service. This includes, but is not limited to,
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doctors, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, nurses, nurses’ aides, allied health professionals,
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medical assistants, hospital employees, clinic employees, nursing home employees, pharmacists,
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pharmacy technicians and employees, medical school faculty and students, nursing school faculty

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and students, psychology and counseling faculty and students, medical researchers, laboratory
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technicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, mental health professionals, social workers,
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or any other person who facilitates or participates in the provision of a medical procedure or service.
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(7) "Medical procedure or service" means medical care provided to any patient at any time
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over the entire course of treatment, or medical research. This includes, but is not limited to, testing;
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diagnosis; referral; dispensing and/or administering any drug, medication, or device; psychological
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therapy or counseling; research; prognosis; therapy; record making procedures; notes related to
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treatment; set up or performance of a surgery or procedure; or any other care or services performed
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or provided by any medical practitioner including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, allied
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health professionals, paraprofessionals, contractors, or employees of healthcare institutions.
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(8) "Participate" in a medical procedure or service means to provide, perform, assist with,
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facilitate, refer for, counsel for, advise with regard to, admit for the purposes of providing,
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or take part in any way in providing any medical procedure or service, or any form of such service.
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(9) "Pay" or "payment" means to pay for, contract for, arrange for the payment of, whether
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in whole or in part, reimburse or remunerate.
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23-106-3. Rights of conscience of medical practitioners, healthcare institutions and
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healthcare payers.

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(a) Freedom of conscience. A medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare
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payer has the right not to participate in or pay for any medical procedure or service which violates
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their conscience.
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(b) Limitations. The exercise of the right of conscience is limited to conscience-based
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objections to a particular medical procedure or service. This section shall not be construed to waive
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or modify any duty a health care practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer may have
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to provide other medical procedures or services that do not violate the practitioner’s, institution’s
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or payer’s conscience.
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(c) Immunity from liability. No medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare
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payer shall be civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for exercising their right of conscience
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not to participate in or pay for a medical procedure or service. No healthcare institution shall be
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civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for the exercise of conscience rights not to participate
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in a medical procedure or service by a medical practitioner employed, contracted, or granted
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admitting privileges by the healthcare institution.
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(d) Discrimination. No medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer
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shall be discriminated against in any manner as a result of their decision to decline to participate in
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or pay for a medical procedure or service on the basis of conscience.

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(e) Exception. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, a
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religious medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer that holds itself out to the
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public as religious, states in its governing documents that it has a religious purpose or mission, and
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has internal operating policies or procedures that implement its religious beliefs, shall have the right
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to make employment, staffing, contracting, and admitting privilege decisions consistent with its
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religious beliefs.
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(f) Opt-in required. A health care practitioner may not be scheduled for, assigned, or
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requested to directly or indirectly perform, facilitate, refer for, or participate in an abortion unless
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the practitioner first affirmatively consents in writing to perform, facilitate, refer for, or participate
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in the abortion.
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(g) Emergency medical treatments. This chapter shall not be construed to override the
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requirement to provide emergency medical treatment to all patients as set forth in 42 U.S.C. §
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1395dd.
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23-106-4. Whistleblower protection.

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(a) No medical practitioner shall be discriminated against in any manner because the
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medical practitioner:
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(1) Provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or cause to be provided to their
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employer, the attorney general, department of health, any state agency charged with protecting
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health care rights of conscience, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of
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Civil Rights, or any other federal agency charged with protecting health care rights of conscience
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information relating to any violation of, or any act or omission the medical practitioner reasonably
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believes to be a violation of, any provision of this chapter;
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(2) Testified or is about to testify in a proceeding concerning such violation; or
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(3) Assisted or participated, or is about to assist or participate, in such a proceeding.
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(b) Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, no medical practitioner shall be
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discriminated against in any manner because the medical practitioner disclosed any information
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that the medical practitioner reasonably believes evinces:
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(1) Any violation of any law, rule, or regulation;
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(2) Any violation of any ethical guidelines for the provisions of any medical procedure or
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service; or
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(3) Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, practices or
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methods of treatment that may put patient health at risk, or a substantial and specific danger to
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public health or safety.
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(c) The board of medical licensure and discipline shall not reprimand, sanction, or revoke

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or threaten to revoke a license, certificate, or registration of a health care practitioner for engaging
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in speech or expressive activity protected under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, unless
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the board demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that the practitioner’s speech was the direct
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cause of physical harm to a person with whom the health care practitioner had a practitioner-patient
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relationship within the three (3) years immediately preceding the incident of physical harm.
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(1) The board of medical licensure and discipline shall provide a medical practitioner with
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any complaints it has received which may result in the revocation of the medical practitioner’s
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license, certification, or registration, within seven (7) days after receipt of the complaint.
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(2) The board of medical licensure and discipline shall pay the medical practitioner an
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administrative penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for each day the complaint is not provided to
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the medical practitioner after the seven (7) day period set forth in subsection (c)(1) of this section.
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23-106-5. Civil remedies.

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(a) Civil action for violation of right of conscience. A civil action for damages or injunctive
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relief, or both, may be brought by any medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare
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payer for any violation of this chapter. Any additional burden or expense on another medical
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practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer arising from the exercise of the right of
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conscience shall not be a defense to any violation of this chapter. However, no civil action may be
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brought against an individual who declines to use or purchase medical procedure or services from
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a specific medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare payer for exercising the rights
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set forth in § 23-106-3.
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(b) Other remedies. Any party aggrieved by any violation of this chapter may commence a
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civil action and upon a finding of a violation, shall be entitled to recover threefold their actual
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damages sustained, along with the costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees. Such damages
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shall be cumulative and in no way limited by any other remedies which may be available under any
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other federal, state, or municipal law. A court considering such civil action may also award
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injunction relief, which may include, but is not limited to, reinstatement of a medical practitioner
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to their previous position, reinstatement of board certification, and re-licensure of a healthcare
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institution or healthcare payer.
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23-106-6. Severability.

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Any provision of this chapter held to be invalid or unenforceable by its terms, or as applied
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to any person or circumstance, shall be construed so as to give it the maximum effect permitted by
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law, unless such holding shall be one of utter invalidity or unenforceability, in which event such
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provision shall be deemed severable herefrom and shall not affect the remainder hereof or the
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application of such provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other, dissimilar

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circumstances.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT
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This act would establish the right of a medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or
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healthcare payer not to participate in or pay for any medical procedure or service that violates their
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conscience. This act would further protect medical practitioners and institutions from lawsuits or
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criminal charges for exercising their right of conscience. This act would ensure that a doctor or
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nurse cannot be fired, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against by their employer for declining
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to participate in a procedure that violates his or her conscience.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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