HB 2248 passed the Arizona Senate on a party-line vote and has already cleared the House in a prior version. The bill defines “medical interventions” broadly as any procedure, treatment, device, or drug taken to prevent or cure disease — though the legislative debate has centered squarely on vaccines.
Under the bill, no business could refuse to provide “any service, product, admission to a venue or transportation” solely because a customer has not received a medical intervention. That includes tickets to entertainment events, sports, and concerts. Employers — both public and private — would also be barred from discriminating based on vaccination status, and government agencies could not require inoculation to receive benefits, licenses, or permits.
Rep. Lisa Fink, the Glendale Republican who sponsored the bill, grounded her argument in the Declaration of Independence. “Our founders declared that all people are endowed with unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” she said. “This bill ensures that Arizonans are not forced to choose between their bodily autonomy and their ability to work, learn, travel, or to participate in public life.”
Sen. Janae Shamp, a Surprise Republican and nurse, backed the measure passionately. “The time has come to stop shoving Big Pharma into our children and into our citizens,” she said. “We, as the government, absolutely have the right to say our citizens live in a free state of Arizona and in a free country of the United States of America.” (RELATED: Arizona Gov. Hobbs Unveils Energy Plan Pushing Renewables While Admitting State Can’t Afford To Ditch Natural Gas)
Democratic opposition was sharp. Sen. Lauren Kuby asked, “Aren’t we here to protect those most vulnerable?” Dr. Regan Hill testified about surviving childhood leukemia and attending public school only because his classmates were vaccinated.
The bill does include one exception: employers can require vaccination if a job mandates foreign travel and the vaccine is the only legal means of entry into that country. (RELATED: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes Wave of Bills)
