Enact the Conscientious Right to Refuse Act
Legislative Analysis Report Enact the Conscientious Right to Refuse Act
1. Primary Purpose of the Bill
This bill, known as the Conscientious Right to Refuse Act, aims to protect individuals from discrimination if they refuse certain medical interventions—such as vaccines, facial coverings, gene editing, or tracking devices—due to their religious beliefs or moral conscience. It prohibits employers, businesses, schools, and government agencies from firing, denying services to, or penalizing people who make these choices, and allows affected individuals to sue violators for damages.
Civil RightsHealthcareLabor and Employment
2. Changes to Existing Law
ORC Sec. 3792.09 Enacts a new section to prohibit businesses, employers, healthcare providers, insurance companies, schools, and government entities from discriminating against, penalizing, or segregating individuals who refuse vaccines, facial coverings, gene editing, tracking devices, or other medical products for reasons of conscience or religion. It also protects minors from being denied medical care if their guardian refuses vaccines, allows individuals to sue for violations, and grants civil immunity to public service providers for disease outbreaks.
3. Key Information for Citizens
🗳️ What You Need to Know
- You cannot be fired, denied a job, or refused service at a business for declining vaccines, masks, or other medical treatments based on your conscience or religious beliefs.
- Children cannot be denied medical care, including organ transplants, because their parent or guardian refuses a vaccine for them.
- If a business, employer, or government agency violates these rights, you can sue them in court to stop the behavior and recover triple damages (or at least $200) plus attorney's fees.
- Surgical masks worn during actual surgeries are not covered by this law and can still be required.
- Businesses and public services that comply with this law are protected from being sued if a disease outbreak occurs.
4. Entities Affected
- Ohio employees and job applicants
- Private businesses and non-profit organizations
- Healthcare providers, hospitals, and nursing homes
- State and local government agencies and public officials
- Colleges, universities, and private schools
- Health insurance companies
5. Regulatory Impact & Enforcement
Agency Authority: No state agencies are granted new regulatory or oversight authority; enforcement is handled through private civil lawsuits in the court system.
Penalties & Mandates: Prohibits employers, businesses, and government entities from discriminating against or penalizing individuals who refuse specified medical interventions. Violators may face civil lawsuits and be ordered to pay court costs, attorney's fees, and triple the amount of actual damages (or a minimum of $200).
Implementation Timeline: Not applicable
6. Estimated Fiscal Impact
State Revenue Impact
Not applicable
Local Government Impact
Not applicable
Implementation Costs
Not applicable
Net Annual Fiscal Effect
Not applicable
Policy doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Meet the representatives and senators who introduced this bill and are pushing it through the chamber. Click on any sponsor to see their district, party affiliation, and what other legislation they’ve championed this session.
Primary Sponsors
Jennifer Gross
District
45
Chamber
House of Representatives
Party
Republican
Beth Lear
District
61
Chamber
House of Representatives
Party
Republican
Co-Sponsors
Related Topics
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Education
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Criminal Justice
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Healthcare
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Business & Commerce
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Labor & Employment
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Civil Rights & Liberties
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Local Government
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Technology & Cybersecurity
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Most legislative decisions are made in committee rooms, not on the chamber floor. Here, you can track which committees have been assigned to review, amend, or report on this bill. Stay informed on where the bill is currently being debated and which chairpersons hold the power to move it forward.
Status Changes
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Senate |
Governor |
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Referred to committee
Feb 26 2025
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Documents
Access the primary source. This section hosts the full, unedited text of the legislation alongside every official document produced during its journey. From the initial draft to the final enrolled version, you can review the exact language being proposed for state law.
