Pritzker Seeks To 'Clarify' Law Used To Dodge Vaccine Mandates

ILLINOIS — In August, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a statewide vaccine or testing mandate for teachers and health care workers. The city of Chicago said the same month that it would require all city employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-October. And, in September, President Joe Biden instructed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to write new workplace safety rules requiring as many as 100 million Americans to get the shot or get tested weekly.

But in Illinois, a 1998 law is complicating the state's efforts to fight the virus — so much that the governor wants it changed.

"This law is there, and it seems to pretty clear and it seems to be gaining ground that this law does in fact apply directly to the vaccine mandates and we really do believe there’s a discrimination part of this law that will protect our members if they seek to get an exemption against the vaccines," state police union president Chris Southwood told Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW.

Some teachers at a downstate school district cited the same law in a letter to school administrators last month.

"I respectfully decline to get the COVID-19 vaccine or participate in your weekly COVID-19 testing as is my right granted to me under the Health Care Right of Conscience Act," the letter read.

The local school board approved exemptions for about a dozen teachers who signed on to the letter.

The Health Care Right of Conscience Act bans discrimination against those who refuse to receive health care services that violate their conscience.

It reads, in part:

It shall be unlawful for any person, public or private institution, or public official to discriminate against any person in any manner, including but not limited to, licensing, hiring, promotion, transfer, staff appointment, hospital, managed care entity, or any other privileges, because of such person's conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.

As more people cite the law in an attempt to skirt vaccine mandates, Pritzker is working with legislators to revise the act, ABC 7 reports.

It's not the first time the law has come under fire. Originally intended to protect doctors and nurses who don't want to participate in abortions, or pharmacist who don't want to fill prescriptions for contraception, it was amended in 2016 to ensure patients "receive enough information about their conditions and treatment options to make intelligent choices about their care," according to the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

It's not clear how long it might take to amend the law again, or whether the courts would apply the amendment retroactively.

"The Health Care Right of Conscience Act was never intended to allow people to avoid public health guidance during a global pandemic," the governor's office said in a statement. "The administration supports efforts to clarify the law, so it cannot be misinterpreted by fringe elements."