According to USA Today, doctors are becoming more vocal about their opposition to drugs and procedures that violate their religious beliefs. As controversial drugs like the morning-after pill and RU-486 become more prevalent, several states have offered "conscience protections" for health care providers. Forty-six states now allow physicians to refuse to perform abortions, but the number falls to just 13 which uphold a doctors' right not to dispense contraception. For some doctors, the list of objectionable services keeps growing to include everything from Viagra to certain fertility treatments. Genetic technology and other biotech inventions are likely only to rapidly multiply practices that challenge medical ethics. As the ranks of emboldened doctors grow, so too do the lawsuits. In California, one such case involving a doctor who would not offer fertility treatment to a lesbian couple has reached the state's Supreme Court. Sadly, far too many Americans view health care providers as robots or vending machines. The time has come for every state to pass laws that reassure the medical field that moral convictions are not an occupational hazard.
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