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Service, not Servitude

Guam Code ยง31.22 Refusal to Participate in Abortion.

(a) No employer or other person shall require a physician, a registered nurse, a licensed vocational nurse, or any person employed or with staff privileges at a hospital, facility or clinic to directly participate in the induction or performance of an abortion, if such employee or other person has filed a written statement with the employer or the hospital, facility or clinic indicating a moral, ethical or religious basis for refusal to participate in the abortion.

No such employee or other person with staff privileges in a hospital, facility, or clinic shall be subject to any penalty or discipline by reason of his refusal to participate in an abortion. No such employee of a hospital, facility or clinic which does not permit the performance of abortions, or person with staff privileges therein, shall be subject to any penalty or discipline on account of such person_s participation in the performance of an abortion in other than such hospital, facility or clinic.

No employer shall refuse to employ any person because of such person_s refusal for moral, ethical or religious reasons to participate in an abortion, unless such person would be assigned in the normal course of business of any hospital, facility or clinic to work in those parts of the hospital, facility or clinic where abortion patients are cared for.

No provision of this Chapter prohibits any hospital, facility or clinic which permits the performance of abortions from inquiring whether the employee or prospective employee would advance a moral, ethical or religious basis for refusal to participate in an abortion before hiring or assigning such a person to that part of a hospital, facility or clinic where abortion patients are cared for.

The refusal of a physician, nurse, or any other person to participate or aid in the induction or performance of an abortion pursuant to this subsection shall not form the basis of any claim for damages.

(b) No hospital, facility, or clinic shall refuse staff privileges to a physician because of such physician's refusal to participate in the performance of an abortion for moral, ethical, or religious reasons.

(c) Nothing in this Chapter shall require a non-profit hospital or other facility or clinic which is operated by a religious corporation or other religious organization or any administrative officer, employee, agent, or member of the governing board thereof, to perform or permit the performance of an abortion in such facility or clinic or to provide abortion services. No such non-profit facility or clinic organized or operated by a religious corporation or other religious organization, nor its administrative officers, employees, agents, or members of its governing board shall be liable, individually or collectively, for failure or refusal to participate in any such act.

The failure or refusal of any such corporation, unincorporated association or individual person to perform or to permit the performance of such medical procedures shall not be the basis for any disciplinaryor other recriminatory action against such corporations, unincorporated associations, or individuals. Any such facility or clinic which does not permit the performance of abortions on its premises shall post notice of such proscription in an area of such facility or clinic which is open to patients and prospective admittees.

(d) This section shall not apply to medical emergency situations and spontaneous abortions. Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

SOURCE: Added by P.L. 14-122 (4/19/78).