The bill (SB1564) is sponsored by state Senator Daniel Biss and co-sponsored by state Sen. Michael Noland. Biss and Noland say the new law would still allow health care providers to assert religious objections, but would require them to provide material information to patients despite those objections.
Critics argue the bill essentially denies doctors and health care providers the right to exercise their First Amendment religious freedom by requiring them to provide material support and assistance for things such as abortion or abortifacients - drugs that cause abortion.
The bill also requires that any refusal to provide health care cannot impair the patient's health, subjectively defined by the state or the patient.
The bill seeks to change the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, under which an appellate court ruled three years ago that the religious beliefs of the provider trump the patient's needs.
Source: Illinois Review
