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AUSTIN (Nexstar) – A group of Texas doctors urge Governor Greg Abbott to lift his vaccine ban order, saying the government must stay out of health care.
Doctors who are on the Committee to Protect Health Care, a national advocacy group, said in a press conference Friday that the executive order is preventing healthcare facilities from making decisions that will protect their patients and communities.
Dr. Joanna Schwartz, an Austin pediatric emergency specialist, said the order violated fundamental business principles of the state.
“Texas is all about business and individual companies should be able to set guidelines for their employees,” she said. “People don’t always make the best decision. Many people are driven by misinformation available on social media on the internet. And it should be a matter for a single institution to decide the guidelines for its staff, and it is imperative that hospitals or other health care facilities have the right to request vaccinations. “
The discussion of vaccination requirements for healthcare workers caught national attention when the Houston Methodist Hospital system suspended 178 employees without pay for refusing to be vaccinated. In June, a federal judge dismissed an employee complaint. Vaccinations as a condition of employment are sometimes not compulsory.
Republican lawmakers in Texas disagree with this notion, saying it is a discriminatory practice for employers to fire employees for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Senate Act 51 would codify Abbott’s July executive order that prohibited government agencies from requesting COVID-19 vaccines, as well as public or private entities that received government funding. It also codified an additional ordinance made by Abbott in August not to add any places or school districts that may require their employees to receive the vaccine.
The wording of the bill does not include Abbott’s latest executive order banning all Texas businesses from requesting COVID-19 vaccinations or proof of them.
However, the law provides for exceptions that employers must allow. This includes objections to vaccination “on the basis of illness or for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs”.
Eric McDaniel, associate professor of politics at the University of Texas, said there were good reasons lawmakers couldn’t try to codify Abbott’s latest executive order.
“Texas is actively trying to recruit companies from other states and has been very successful. But doing something like this can make companies a little cautious about coming to Texas because if we try to regulate this aspect of your business, who says we won’t try? regulate other aspects, ”said McDaniel.
He said that aside from potentially being viewed as bad for business, there are legal precedents that could potentially undo such a law.
“When it comes to government mandates such as vaccination, there is a court case over 110 years ago when the Supreme Court said, under certain conditions, that people cannot be asked to vaccinate,” said McDaniel.
Whether or not lawmakers will get these bills across the finish line by the end of the special session next Tuesday, McDaniel estimates that it will be difficult to pass complicated guidelines in a short period of time.
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