Strings Attached? The Creation of Institutional Rights of Conscience in Health Care

Healthcare and Religion Lecture Ronit Y. Stahl, PhD Gary and Donna Freedman Chair in Undergraduate Education Associate Professor of History University of California, Berkeley Across the United States, religious hospitals can invoke institutional conscience rights to deny patients the care they seek—most often in reproductive, LGBTQ, and end-of-life care. Religious healthcare systems operate almost 20 percent of American hospitals, controlling upwards of 50 percent of hospital beds in some states. Yet many patients (and sometimes clinicians too) remain unaware of institutional religious affiliation or what it means. This talk examines the creation of institutional conscience rights and the consequences of that history for the present day. Continuing medical education credit will be available for those in attendance. Co-sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies, Jewish Studies Program, and Palliative and Supportive Institute Catalog of Opportunities Event