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Ohio Gov. DeWine signed HB 110 budget rider letting medical providers refuse care on moral or religious grounds

On June 30, 2021, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 110, the state's FY2022-2023 operating budget, into law, retaining a last-minute rider -- Amendment SC3909, the "Medical Practitioner Conscience" clause -- that lets any health care practitioner, institution, or payer refuse to perform or pay for a service that conflicts with their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs, with immunity from liability. DeWine declined to line-item veto the provision despite public pressure from LGBTQ+ and reproductive-rights groups, who said the facially neutral clause functions as a license to deny care, including gender-affirming treatment, to LGBTQ+ patients.

Jurisdiction
Ohio
Location
Columbus, Ohio

Abuses documented

Actors

On June 30, 2021, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 110, the state's FY2022-2023 operating budget, into law. Inserted into the omnibus appropriations bill during the conference-committee process, without a standalone hearing or public comment, was Amendment SC3909 -- the "Medical Practitioner Conscience" clause, codified at Ohio Rev. Code 4743.10. The provision grants any medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer the right to decline to perform, participate in, or pay for a health care service that conflicts with their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs, and immunizes them from civil, criminal, or administrative liability for the refusal. DeWine declined to line-item veto the rider despite public pressure, calling the discrimination concern "not a problem"; the clause took statutory effect September 30, 2021.

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including Equality Ohio and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, and reproductive-rights groups Pro-Choice Ohio and Planned Parenthood, opposed the rider as a "license to discriminate," arguing that although facially neutral, it functions as a back-door means to deny care disproportionately needed by LGBTQ+ patients, including hormone replacement therapy and other gender-affirming care.

Updates

2022-05-02 — ACLU of Ohio, Equitas Health sued state over conscience clause [5]

The ACLU of Ohio and Equitas Health sued Ohio and Gov. DeWine, asking a court to declare the "Medical Practitioner Conscience" provision void as a violation of the state constitution's single-subject rule for legislation.

2023-05-31 — ACLU of Ohio filed amicus brief backing Columbus lawsuit against conscience clause [6]

The ACLU of Ohio filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the City of Columbus's separate lawsuit against the state, arguing the "Medical Practitioner Conscience" provision violated the Ohio Constitution's single-subject rule because it was inserted into an unrelated appropriations bill, and urging the court to grant Columbus's motion for summary judgment voiding the law.

Why we recorded this

Equal treatment under the law means health care access should not depend on a patient's identity. Ohio's HB 110 granted any medical provider, health care institution, or payer a religious- or moral-belief exemption to refuse care, a facially neutral rule that LGBTQ+ and reproductive-rights groups warned functions as a back-door license to deny services -- including gender-affirming care -- disproportionately needed by protected populations. This archive records when lawmakers use conscience-exemption language to open a lawful path around anti-discrimination norms in health care.

Sources

  1. Section 4743.10 | Freedom to decline for conscience-based objections. — Ohio Revised Code primary accessed July 19, 2026
  2. House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly — Ohio House of Representatives primary accessed July 19, 2026
  3. Gov. DeWine Approves "Medical Practitioner Conscience" Clause; Called a "License to Discriminate" Against LGBTQ+ Ohioans — The Buckeye Flame secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  4. Ohio Law allowing physicians to refuse to provide medical care worries LGBT community — WOIO/Fox19 secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  5. ACLU, Equitas Health sue Ohio over 'medical conscience' clause — Ohio Capital Journal primary accessed July 19, 2026
  6. ACLU of Ohio Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Equitas Health in Support of City of Columbus' Challenge to Ohio's 'Healthcare Denial Law' as Violating the Ohio Constitution — ACLU of Ohio primary accessed July 19, 2026

See also