In Florida, a dangerous new “religious freedom” bill targets women and gays for discrimination, and would allow medical providers to legally refuse service on the grounds of sincerely held “religious convictions.”

The bill would allow medical professionals to discriminate against women and LGBT patients who live in violation of the medical professional’s “religious convictions.” Under the new legislation, doctors could refuse to treat women seeking birth control or abortion services, deny transgender individuals hormone therapy, and deny couples fertility treatment.

Gay Star News reports Bill HB 401 seeks to provide “immunity from liability for a health care facility or health care provider that refuses to administer, recommend, or deliver medical treatments or procedures that would be contrary to religious or moral convictions or policies.”

According to NBC, the bill, filed Wednesday by Florida Rep. Julio Gonzalez (R), would allow “a healthcare facility,” “an ambulatory surgery center, “a nursing home,” “an assisted living facility,” ‘a hospice… that is owned or operated by a religious institution,” or simply “a health care provider” to refuse to treat a patient or administer a medication if that procedure is contrary to the “religious or moral convictions” of the facility or health care provider.

In addition to allowing doctors and other medical professionals to discriminate against people that offend their “religious convictions” the bill also allows almost anybody else to discriminate against women, gays, or other minorities that offend their “religious convictions.”

The Herald Tribune notes:

It (HB 401) states that individuals, businesses with five or fewer owners, religious institutions and businesses operated by religious institutions are ‘not required to produce, create, or deliver a product or service’ to a customer if they have a religious or moral objection.

Human Rights Campaign reports:

It is clear that this is intended to allow for discrimination against LGBT people and other minority groups… HB 401 doesn’t just threaten the LGBT community. It also will affect women, members of minority faiths and communities of color.

Equality Florida condemned the bill as “mean-spirited” and “discriminatory.” The group’s executive director, Nadine Smith, said:

… this extreme bill doesn’t affirm existing law; it goes much further than that. In addition to churches, it would allow individuals, for-profit businesses, health care providers, non-profit adoption agencies and others to discriminate against anyone they want, for personal reasons. Legal experts say this bill is even worse than the disastrous Indiana bill that sparked a nationwide backlash. Indiana’s governor called a hasty special session to repeal that costly mistake.

Bottom line: The bill is one of the most discriminatory measures in the nation, and demonstrates once again the ugly and mean-spirited nature of conservative Christians who try to hide their bigotry and hatred under the guise of “religious freedom.”