Wis. Governor Vetoes 'Conscience Clause'

So in Wisconsin, if I am told that I must not feed or give any water to a patient
in my care, because they are starving/dehydrating her to death, I must lose my
job for refusing to follow through on this? AND there is always the danger then
of not being hired again, someplace else.

Thank you, Gov Doyle. Not. (Scroll down for the story)

And now, he is working on vetoing these, too:
(Thank you, Catholic Fire!)

MADISON — Based on research suggesting a fetus feels pain at five months,
a state Assembly bill would make physicians tell a patient seeking an abortion
that her unborn child would experience pain during the procedure
performed at 20 weeks.

Assembly Bill 321 is aimed at helping women make informed choices about
a difficult decision, but critics say it is founded on inconclusive evidence
and it infringes on the doctor-patient relationship.

As members of the Assembly prepare to debate the bill Tuesday, their votes
will be cast on a controversial issue that has become increasingly familiar.

The fetus-pain legislation is one of 10 abortion-related bills introduced in the
Legislature this year. While the majority of them have stalled in committee
(and three are duplicate bills introduced in both chambers), the Assembly
last week passed a bill that would make it harder for minors to get an abortion
without written, notarized consent from their parent or legal guardian.

That measure must first pass the Senate and be signed by the governor
before it can become law.
Gov. Jim Doyle has pledged to veto both abortion bills.

“It’s unfortunate the Legislature has spent so much time
and taxpayer money this fall on the issues that divide people — instead
of focusing on what most people in Wisconsin care about — having
a good-paying job, a good school for their kids and
affordable health care,” Doyle said.

Wis. Governor Vetoes 'Conscience Clause'

Wis. Governor Vetoes Bill Allowing Health

Workers to Opt Out of Procedures for Moral Reasons

By TODD RICHMOND

The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin's governor vetoed a bill Friday that would
have allowed health care workers to opt out of a half-dozen procedures,
including withdrawing a person's feeding tube and using embryonic stem cells,
on religious or moral grounds.

The "conscience clause" also would have protected medical workers against
punishment from their bosses or state regulators if they refused to refer people
elsewhere to get the procedures.

"Because it puts a doctor's political views ahead of the best interests of patients,
this legislation ought to be called the 'unconscionable clause,'" Gov. Jim Doyle
said in a statement. "It is a disservice to patients and to our health care system."

Doyle, a Democrat, vetoed a similar bill in 2004.

Wisconsin Right to Life, a group that opposes legalized abortions, pushed this
latest measure.

Under current state law, medical workers already can opt out of abortions and
sterilization procedures on moral or religious grounds without fear of reprisal
from their employers or state examining boards and licensing agencies.

The bill laid out six more procedures medical workers could refuse for ethical
objections: destroying embryos or using cells from destroyed embryos;
procedures on an embryo that won't benefit it; procedures involving a child
growing in an artificial womb that don't help the child; procedures, such as
transplants, that use fetal organs; pulling a feeding tube from a person who
isn't terminally ill; and assisting in a suicide.

Wisconsin Right to Life legislative director Susan Armacost said the veto
would make life tougher for medical workers.

"They feel it's very necessary," she said. "The whole atmosphere is not very
amenable to people who don't want to kill their patients."

On the Net:

Gov. Jim Doyle: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/

Wisconsin Right to Life: http://www.wrtl.org/

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.