IL health care

Manya sent me email saying that legislation that just passed the Michigan House would allow health care providers to refuse to treat gay people. I'm assuming this bill now has to pass the Michigan Senate before becoming law. (Emergency care may not be refused, thankfully.)

Michigan Preparing To Let Doctors Refuse To Treat Gays

That's pretty Cro-Magnon, you have to admit. Then I was shocked and rather horrified to find that Illinois already has such a law.

(745 ILCS 70) Health Care Right of Conscience Act

It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to ... prohibit all forms of discrimination ... [against] persons ... refusing to act contrary to their conscience or conscientious convictions in refusing to ... deliver ... health care services and medical care.

Sorry for the extreme editing, but the statue is in very circuituous, legalistic language.

I got my eyes checked a few years ago, and was rather -- not offended, that's not the right word -- put out that there were a number of little crocheted things saying "Jesus" scattered around the waiting room. It certainly made me feel rather uncomfortable; someone like me probably wasn't welcome there. I don't think I've ever actually come out to an optometrist before, or ever been in a situation where it would be relevant, but what if I had been in a similar doctor's office for something of a more, shall we say, delicate nature?

Both hospitals in town are Catholic. Now, abortion aside, Catholics are actually quite generous in their good works; I don't expect them to start turning gays away at the door. I'm not sure if that would be the case if they were run by any of the more fire-and-brimstone Christian denominations. Do the Southern Baptists run any hospitals? Let's hope not.