The Intensive Care Unit nurse watches patients in the ward at Roseland Community Hospital.
Illinois Representative Jonathan Carroll is scrapping his proposal to make unvaccinated people pay hospital bills out of pocket after receiving violent threats.
The Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook introduced legislation earlier this week that would have changed the state's codes for health and accident insurance. The bill was intended to prevent insurance policies from covering hospital bills for people who are unvaccinated.
The bill was politically divisive. Federal law prevents health insurance providers from denying or reducing coverage based on a change in a person's health status.
The one-paragraph piece of legislation was simply a starting point, according to Carroll.
The responsibility is on you if you get sick if you don't get vaccinations, according to the Sun-Times.
In a statement posted to the social networking site, he said that he had decided not to pursue it further due to the divisive nature of the bill.
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The statement went on.
I have tried to have civil discourse with those who disagree with me. Threats against me, my family, and my staff are reprehensible. I hope we can return to a more positive discussion about public health, especially when it comes to the Pandemic that has tired us all.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, he said that the threats came from a bunch of people and included racial slurs and mentions of his wife and children. Someone sent a note to the synagogue.
The Sun-Times quoted a man named Carroll as saying this was ridiculous. "If you want to call people names and call people racial slurs, you can do that, but we can't have a reasonable conversation anymore."
The offices of the Illinois Senate President and House Speaker denounced the threats.
"Threats of violence or death on anyone have no place in politics or our society," said a spokesman for Welch. The Speaker will encourage civil, productive public discourse regardless of political party.
