Wednesday, February the 11th, I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us.

What one lawmaker calls a right of conscience.

Others decry as discrimination a religious liberty measure is in motion in Frankfort as it advanced from committee this morning.

A Jessamine County Republican and physician is putting up the measure that applies to doctors and other health care professionals.

As our June Leffler reports, medical associations and LGBTQ rights groups aren't on board.

That begins tonight's legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> But, you know, this bill protects those who wish to follow their strongly held conscience beliefs as long as it does not put others in danger or even interfere with the rights of others.

There are there are always other health care providers that they can use as options.

>> Health care workers could refuse any medical care except emergency or sexual assault services.

Under Senate Bill 72, medical professional boards could not reprimand a worker for exercising their beliefs.

A Louisville Democrat and doctor asked for real world examples.

>> When would this have ever had any applicability to my practice?

>> Having prescriptions changed.

I've been in clinics where the owners of the clinics actually changed prescriptions that were written for patients.

>> Though the measure offers more leeway for health care workers, medical professionals and associations testified against the bill.

>> As health care providers, we take an oath to do no harm.

That oath does not change based on who the patient is or what someone believes.

I am also a member of the LGBT community, and this bill scares me.

Not just of being denied care, but of receiving care that is less complete, less compassionate, and less safe.

>> The local American Civil Liberties Union and the Fairness Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group, also testified.

>> The list of health care services that can be denied is so broad, and it's not an exhaustive list, but it includes testing, diagnosis, referral, even record keeping.

A receptionist could refuse to check in a patient wearing a Maga hat.

A custodian could refuse to clean an interracial couples room in the maternity ward, or an unmarried mother single mother, a pharmacist could refuse to provide HIV prevention drugs.

>> In the Senate Health Services Committee.

Both Democrats oppose the measure.

>> Our job is to treat and not make moral judgments on who we are treating or why they are in that situation.

I find this bill antithetical to established medical ethics.

>> All Republicans approved the measure.

>> The way I see this, this is not denying patients of whatever persuasion, any care, especially in emergency, that they will they will get care and emergency.

>> I was able to speak with the medical school student from UK, and he and his wife both were attending UK, and they were sincerely concerned about their conscience rights to the extent that they were going to move to Florida, where they do have conscience protections.

>> Senate Bill 72 passed 8 to 2 and heads to the Senate for its first floor vote for Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> The Alliance Defending Freedom helped craft Senate Bill 72.

That's a national law firm that has won U.S.

Supreme Court cases for a wedding cake