Tennessee joins multi-state effort to deny medical treatment based on religious beliefs

Tennessee physicians and insurance companies could soon deny patients certain medical treatments under a bill now headed to the governor’s desk. The measure would allow doctors, nurses and insurance companies to refuse procedures that go against their moral or religious beliefs.

The bill will now head to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature.

Versions of the Medical Ethics Defense Act have been proposed in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa and other states. The legislation is backed by the lobbying group, the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated it an anti-LGBTQ hate group.

Tennessee’s bill does differ from other states: It doesn’t give the patient notice if their doctor or insurance provider no longer support a service.

On the House floor, the bill’s sponsor — Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro — told lawmakers that the bill is not discriminatory.

“This bill has nothing to do with objecting to care based on someone’s race, color, sex, religion, or nation of origin,” Terry said.

“I would like to believe that it wouldn’t have anything to do with race,” Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, said. “But I’ve actually been in a hospital setting and seen a nurse refuse to give service to a Black man for no other reason, other than it was a Black man. So, I’m cautious about this and whether it gives cover for racism to be practiced in the health field.”

Bean Chapman, Policy Analyst for the Tennessee Equality Project, told WPLN News they have similar concerns.

“While the bill and the law itself doesn’t say you can discriminate against a patient, you could discriminate against certain traits that patients have or are at risk for,” Chapman said. “The other disadvantage to the patients themselves is, it really is on the patient to prove discrimination. It makes it much harder under this law than it currently does.”

While abortion and gender-affirming care for minors are already illegal in Tennessee, Chapman said other services, like HIV testing and prevention could be at risk.

The measure could greatly impact Memphis, which is considered a national hotspot for HIV. Advocacy and non-profit groups in the city were vocal about the repercussions of Tennessee rejecting millions of dollars in federal funding for HIV testing and prevention in 2023.