by Olivia Krauth, Queer Kentucky | Kentucky’s Only LGBTQ+ Newsroom February 13, 2026 Kentucky lawmakers are again trying to allow health care providers a way out of performing procedures or services that “violate their conscience” — potentially impacting thousands of Kentuckians, particular ly those who are LGBTQ+.  Senate Bill 72 (SB 72) — sponsored by Republican Sen. Donald Douglas, a Nicholasville-based doctor — cleared Kentucky’s Senate Friday. It now heads to the House, which almost passed the same bill last year before running out of time. Kentucky’s GOP-dominated legislature, though, has more time this year, with weeks left in the session.  As written, the bill would let a range of people involved in health care — from doctors and nurses, to social workers and medical researchers, to anyone deemed a “hospital employee” — along with both public and private health care institutions — including hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes and medical schools — to refuse to perform services if they feel it violates their “sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical” beliefs.  The list of protected services listed in the bill is equally broad, with SB 72 allowing providers to object to everything from testing and diagnostics, to direct medical care, to filling prescriptions, to recordskeeping.  The bill also largely prohibits any sort of discrimination or adverse consequence for those who object to providing services on those grounds. SB 72 still requires health care workers to provide emergency medical assistance, as well as examinations and tests for sexual assault survivors, as mandated under federal law.  A range of people, from religious leaders to LGBTQ+ advocates to the ACLU of Kentucky, testified against the bill in committee Wednesday.  Jacks Gilles, a Louisville-based psychologist who frequently works with the LGBTQ+ community, said he’s heard countless stories of patients facing discrimination in health care settings during his more than 20 years of practice. “The harm goes deeper than an instance of denied or inadequate treatment,” he said. “It elevates anxiety and avoidance of health care settings that can exacerbate illness and prevent life-saving treatment.”  Gilles said the Kentucky Psychological Association strongly opposes SB 72. A 2024 poll found 76% of Kentuckians — including people from across ideological lines — oppose legislation like SB 72 that would allow health care providers to deny service on religious or moral grounds.  In the bill and during Wednesday’s Senate committee vote, Douglas defended the measure, pointing to Kentucky’s statewide hospital workforce vacancy rate and arguing the bill will help recruit and keep workers. “Forcing health care professionals to violate their conscience could force them out of their profession and prevent or discourage students from entering the medical field,” the bill reads.  Kentucky’s hospital staffing levels, though, have been on an upswing in recent years, moving from a statewide vacancy rate of 15.3% in 2023 to 8.9% in the most recent report from the Kentucky Hospital Association.  SB 72 has an emergency clause, meaning if it is passed into law, it would immediately go into effect. (Bills passed during Kentucky’s legislative session typically go into effect 90 days after the last day of session.)  This article first appeared on Queer Kentucky | Kentucky’s Only LGBTQ+ Newsroom and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The post Kentucky Senate Advances SB 72 Allowing Health Care Employees and Providers to Refuse Services on Religious Grounds appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less