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WCC Urges Legislators to Remove Gender Identity Clause in Direct Primary Care
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference encourages all citizens to contact their state legislators this week to oppose SB 905 (Cabral-Guevara, Rachael) / AB 953 (Duchow, Cindi), regulating direct primary care agreements.
While the bill laudably helps to streamline operations for direct primary care in Wisconsin, it contains a provision that embeds gender identity in Wisconsin law. This provision could force compliance and compelled speech on medical professionals who have sound medical objections, conscience, and religious freedom claims.
The Catholic Church supports universal access to health care and holds that health care must respect life and dignity, be accessible and affordable to all, honor conscience rights, and be comprehensive and of high quality. Catholic health care facilities exist to welcome and serve all people, no matter their age, sex, race, or religion. No matter a person’s condition, abilities, or self-identification, every person is created in the image and likeness of God and deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. No one should ever face harassment, mistreatment, or unjust discrimination.
Our objection to the bill stems solely from how it embeds gender identity into Wisconsin law. The Catholic Church teaches that “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex or take part in the development of such procedures” (USCCB Doctrinal Note on the Moral Limits to Technological Manipulation of the Human Body).
If this bill were to become law, Catholic and other medical professionals could find themselves accused of discrimination if they do not provide certain medical services or affirm the gender identity of their patients. For example, there are Catholic DPCs that prescribe certain hormones to biological females but decline to prescribe the same hormones to biological males. Objecting to gender transition services or procedures does not constitute unjust discrimination. The objection is focused on the action, not the person.
In addition, there are free speech and religious and conscience rights that must be considered. Health care workers objecting on conscience and religious grounds should not have their constitutional rights violated.
Please read our full testimony in opposition to the provision here.
Because AB 953 is scheduled for a floor vote tomorrow, please contact your state representative and senator immediately with the following message:
- I urge you to oppose SB 905 and AB 953 in their current form.
- We support the provision of quality medical care and that every person should be treated with courtesy and respect.
- However, we cannot compel medical professionals to provide care based on gender identity, running contrary to biological reality.
- Enshrining gender identity in state law will force medical professionals to comply, thereby infringing upon sound medical judgments, free speech, and conscience and religious rights.
- We respectfully urge the Legislature to do one of three things: 1) remove the entire nondiscrimination clause (as public accommodation nondiscrimination law already applies), 2) remove gender identity, or 3) reject the bill in its current form.
To contact your representatives, visit the Wisconsin State Legislature website and click on Find My Legislators for their phone number or email address. You can also call the State Legislative Hotline at 1-800-362-9472.
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