Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have allowed medical professionals the discretion to refuse to perform procedures based on the medical professional's moral or religious beliefs.
Assembly Bill 67, nicknamed the \conscience clause,"" would give doctors the ability to refuse to perform abortions, euthanasia and working with human embryos and fetal tissue.
""It would be unconscionable to deny our citizens the full range of needed medical treatment in order to satisfy the ideological views of some health care professionals,"" Doyle said.
Legislative Director of Wisconsin Right to Life Susan Armacost said she thought the veto was a slap in the face to the medical profession throughout the state of Wisconsin. She said no doctors should have to participate in the action of destroying human life if they do not feel they can do that within their conscience.
Political Director of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Chris Taylor said Doyle's veto was really the right thing to do for patients. She said he clearly put patients first in vetoing the bill because the bill jeopardizes patients' health care by allowing a physician or health care worker to substitute patient's health for their own moral opinions and judgements about health care.
""Physicians and health care workers have a code of ethics,"" he said. ""They cannot harm patients.""
Taylor added under this bill physicians and health care workers would not have to refer patients or give them treatment recommendations for certain medical care they need, if physicians and health care workers felt these actions ran against their ideological beliefs.
Taylor said many organizations, including Wisconsin Hospice, Wisconsin Nurses Association and the Association of Family Physicians, opposed the bill. She said Wisconsin Right to Life and the Catholic Conference were the only organizations supporting the bill.
""We are going to be back with renewed vigor on this bill for next session,"" Armacost said. ""There will be extreme pressure on the governor next time to do something about this.""
Armacost said the bill will pass both houses again, adding there will be a louder outcry for the governor if he tries to veto it again.
The bill received majority votes in the Assembly and the Senate. The veto would need a two-thirds majority vote from both Assembly and Senate to be overridden.
