The notion that an EMS provider’s duty can be modified or adjusted based on religious beliefs is preposterous beyond words.
The same First Amendment that effectively separates Church and State is the same one that precludes the State from discriminating based on religion. Every EMS system that is funded, subsidized, or otherwise functions under the auspices of the government – federal, state, or local – is a representative of the government, ergo the state and the law explicitly precludes the State from endorsing or prohibiting the practice of any religion. In this instance, the protection applies to the citizen over the employee.
Unlike physicians or other private practitioners where patient-provider relationships are voluntary, mutually agreeable, and essentially financial in nature, EMS is a dynamic first-come-first-served endeavor that is available to everyone, anytime without exception.
To allow EMS providers to pick and choose who they will and won’t treat based on religious beliefs undermines the entire premise of a 911 EMS system.
What’s worse, if providers are permitted to discriminate based on religion, one can easily extrapolate the slippery slope to the point where race, gender, age, and sexual orientation all become “reasons” to deny service.
Lastly, I cannot think of any service that EMS provides that contradicts any religious belief. Paramedics are not performing abortions or blood transfusions or organ transplants; there are no known voodoo practices in EMS – although I have always had doubts about fundal massage.
I stand firm with the laws derived from the Constitution; the duty [of an EMS provider] to act is unequivocal, unmitigated, and unconditional.
