Defense of Conscience in Health Care Act
Official title: A bill to provide for regulations on protecting statutory conscience rights in health care.
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| Date | Chamber | What was voted on | Result | Yes–No | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 12, 2019 | Senate · vote #22 | On Passage of the Bill S. 47 | Passed | 92–8 | See who voted → |
| Feb 11, 2019 | Senate · vote #21 | On the Cloture Motion S. 47 | Agreed To | 87–7 | See who voted → |
| Feb 5, 2019 | Senate · vote #17 | On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 47 | Agreed To | 99–1 | See who voted → |
| Feb 12, 2013 | Senate · vote #19 | On Passage of the Bill S. 47 | Passed | 78–22 | See who voted → |
| Feb 4, 2013 | Senate · vote #12 | On the Motion to Proceed S. 47 | Agreed To | 85–8 | See who voted → |
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Defense of Conscience in Health Care Act
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue a final rule on protecting statutory conscience rights in health care that is identical or equivalent to the rule titled Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority, which was scheduled to take effect on July 22, 2019, but was vacated by courts.
Federal law generally prohibits discrimination based on conscience or religious beliefs with respect to federally funded health care programs, including prohibiting recipients of certain federal funding from requiring health care providers to take actions that they find religiously or morally objectionable (e.g., providing referrals for abortions).
In 2019, HHS issued a final rule revising the applicable regulations, including imposing certification and cooperation requirements, as well as establishing additional enforcement provisions and penalties. However, this rule was later vacated by federal courts and never took effect. In 2024, HHS issued another final rule that generally applied a pre-2019 enforcement framework while also maintaining certain aspects of the 2019 rule (e.g., specifically designating HHS' Office for Civil Rights as the entity with the authority to handle relevant complaints).
The bill requires HHS to reinstate the 2019 rule in its entirety.
- Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 47: Defense of Conscience in Health Care Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-47/
"S. 47: Defense of Conscience in Health Care Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-47/.
S. 47, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-47/.
[S. 47: Defense of Conscience in Health Care Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-47/)