The Arizona Debacle — A Physician's Perspective

Abstract

An Arizona bill that would have let people refuse, because of religious beliefs, to serve anyone who made them uneasy (including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people) would have risked denying patients care, contrary to physicians' professional commitment.To the Editor: Arizona Senate Bill 1062 was met with appropriate outrage. Ruling that a person may not be forced to act in a manner inconsistent with his or her religious beliefs, the proposal could have permitted people not to serve anyone who made them uneasy. Some persons were concerned that the bill intentionally targeted lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Arizonans, and its proponents did little to quell this fear. State Senator Steven Yarbrough admitted that the bill could be used to deny gay couples accommodations, and state Senator Al Melvin warned of an attack on the pillars of society, ...