South Carolina § 44-139-30 - Right of conscience; no liability for exercising right; limitations; referrals.

§ 44-139-30. Right of conscience; no liability for exercising right; limitations; referrals.

(A) A medical practitioner, health care institutions, and health care payers have the right not to participate in or pay for any health care service which violates the practitioner's or entity's conscience.

(B) No medical practitioner, health care institutions, and health care payers may be civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for exercising the practitioner's or entity's right of conscience with respect to a health care service. No health care institution may be civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for any claims related to or arising out of the exercise of conscience rights protected by this chapter by a medical practitioner employed, contracted, or granted admitting privileges by the health care institution.

(C) No medical practitioner, health care institutions, and health care payers may be discriminated against in any manner as a primary result of the practitioner's or entity's decision to decline to participate in a health care service on the basis of conscience.

(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, a religious medical practitioner, health care institutions, and health care payers that hold themselves out to the public as religious, state in their governing documents that they have a religious purpose or mission, and have internal operating policies or procedures that implement their religious beliefs, have the right to make employment, staffing, contracting, and admitting privilege decisions consistent with their religious beliefs.

(E) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to override either the requirement to provide emergency medical treatment to all patients as set forth in 42 U.S.C. Section 1395dd or any other federal law or regulation.

(F) Exercise of the right of conscience is limited to conscience-based objections to a particular health care service. This section may not be construed to waive or modify any duty a health care practitioner, health care institutions, and health care payers may have to provide other medical services that do not violate the practitioner's, institution's, or payer's conscience.

(G) A medical practitioner exercising his right of conscience to abstain from providing certain health care services pursuant to this chapter may, at his sole discretion and if requested by the patient or legal representative of the patient:

(1) refer the patient to;

(2) transfer the patient to; or

(3) provide information to the patient about other medical practitioners or health care institutions who they reasonably believe may offer the health care service that the medical practitioner or health care institution does not to permit, perform, or participate in because of a conscience-based objection to a health care service.

HISTORY: 2022 Act No. 235 (H.4776), SECTION 2, eff June 17, 2022.