RFI’s Executive Vice President Eric Patterson recently spoke at the 2022 Religious Freedom Annual Review (RFAR), an event sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at the BYU Law School and the Wheatley Institution. This event brings together nationally recognized policymakers, scholars, and religious leaders to discuss the role of religion and religious freedom in the United States. 

Patterson spoke in a session titled, “Legislative Initiatives: Problem Solving by Negotiation.” He highlighted a piece of model legislation called the “MED Act,” which aims to protect the medical conscience rights of healthcare providers:

What this legislation is designed to do is protect the fundamental conscience rights of doctors, nurses and mental health professionals in areas like euthanasia, abortion, transgender procedures, mental health services, and down the road, increasing experimentation in transformative medical procedures.

This set of issues is rooted in the concept of human dignity, and doctors and nurses should not have to leave their moral convictions at the door before going to work, Patterson continued. 

He also highlighted the necessity of citizen action, citing educational efforts and other means of disseminating information to the public on these critical matters. Patterson concluded, “The good news is that legislators in three states have passed this legislation, and I’m optimistic about it in other places. It’s one of the key ways that we can protect the faith convictions of our neighbors and those who serve us.”

Watch his remarks below: