JACKSON - The House moved Monday to strip an adoption tax credit from an abortion bill.
The Abortion Procedure Rights of Conscience Act would allow health care workers to decline to perform abortions and other medical procedures if they have moral objections to them.
House Ways and Means Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, raised a question about the Senate-backed state tax exemption placed in the final version of the bill.
The $5,000 tax exemption was to be given to people who adopt children.
"This is completely new subject matter and has not been passed by either of the House and Senate committees," Watson said.
The House sent the abortion bill back to a conference committee for more work because the adoption tax credit was not cleared through the committees that are supposed to handle tax matters - House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee.
Senate Public Health Chairman Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, said the provision would be removed from the bill, but he was disappointed by the House's action.
"It's in the best public policy of this state to encourage adoption. It puts children with families," Nunnelee said.
"And I cannot understand why the House will not go along with that, but I'm not going to jeopardize the Right of Conscience."
Nunnelee has three adopted siblings.
The bill provides immunity to health care workers who decline to participate in abortion. Nunnelee said the bill was strengthened by a House provision that expanded that coverage to other medical procedures.
Another House provision stripped liability coverage from any worker who refused to perform medical procedures based on a person's race, religion or other discriminatory factor.
Pat Cartrette, executive director of Pro-Life Mississippi, said Mississippi is one of four states without a right to conscience law. The others are Alabama, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Cartrette's organization lobbied for the law's passage this year.
"We've had several specific complaints of people who have been pressured in doing things related to abortion because it violated their conscience," Cartrette said.
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