Report from Tennessee:
Bill Allowing Therapists and Counselors to Refuse Service to Anyone
Based on Their 'Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs'
by
DAVID BADASH
April 06, 2016 1:54 PM
Bill Allows Therapists and Counselors to Refuse Service to Anyone
Based on Their 'Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs'
Tennessee
state lawmakers Wednesday afternoon passed a bill that would allow
mental health professionals to refuse service to anyone based on the
"sincerely held
religious belief of the counselor or therapist." The bill just passed
the House by a huge margin,
68-22,
and earlier passed the Senate, 27-5.
HB 1840
now heads to GOP Gov. Bill Haslam for his signature or veto.
The legislation is particularly onerous for LGBT people in Tennessee.
Of its 6.5 million residents overall, nearly one-quarter live in rural
areas, where
access to mental health professionals can be especially limited. While
the bill states a therapist must provide a referral if they refuse
service, it's
not only possible, but likely, another therapist willing to help an
LGBT person could be hours away.
The ACLU of Tennessee
warns
the bill, should it become law, would allow counselors to "refuse to
see clients for almost unlimited reasons. For instance, a counselor
could refuse
to see a lesbian simply because of her sexual orientation, or to see a
couple involved in an interfaith relationship. A counselor who is an
atheist could
refuse to see a Catholic client—and the list goes on."
"For people seeking counseling because they are faced with a critical
dilemma in their lives and need objective guidance, allowing mental
health professionals
to discriminate could cause grave damage. Many who need care already
face significant barriers, including trauma, marginalization, and a
historic distrust
of mental health providers. For some—like a woman who wants to escape
her abusive spouse or a gay teen being bullied, for example—this bill
could affect
their very survival."
The bill is exceptionally broad, and even includes unlicensed
counselors. It also uses undefined language and sweeping language,
like this passage: "facilitate
normal human growth and development, using a combination of mental
health and human development principles, methods, and techniques, to
achieve mental,
emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, spiritual, or career
development and adjustment throughout the life span."
The Tennessee Equality Project has
a petition
asking Gov. Haslam to veto the bill.
