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Committee sends bill to floor to speed dismissal of civil suits tied to Idaho heartbeat law
Summary
The House State Affairs Committee voted to send Senate Bill 11-71 to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation. Sponsors said the bill adds an anti‑SLAPP‑style procedure and attorney-fee protections so physicians—particularly OBs—can get frivolous civil suits dismissed quickly under Idaho's heartbeat statute (Title 18, Chapter 88).
The House State Affairs Committee voted to send Senate Bill 11-71 to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation, endorsing language to let judges quickly dismiss certain civil suits brought under Idaho’s heartbeat law and to allow prevailing defendants to recover attorney fees.
Supporters said the change is aimed at easing a civil-litigation burden on obstetricians and other physicians who treat life‑threatening pregnancy complications such as ectopic pregnancies.
Representative Bruce Skog, who presented the measure, said the bill responds to concerns from OB physicians who told sponsors they were being given incorrect legal advice that could lead them to avoid necessary care. "Some associations or some persons who are misrepresenting what the abortion laws are to the doctors and to the general public," Skog said, describing fears that specialists could face lawsuits despite statutory exceptions.
David Ripley, executive director of Idaho Chooses Life, testified that the bill would give physicians a faster mechanism to dismiss suits and a path to recover attorney fees. "It gives doctors the opportunity to defend themselves quickly and it gives them something which is not true today, the right to collect attorney's fees if they prevail," Ripley said.
A public testifier, Erin Barnard of Coeur d'Alene, described an ectopic pregnancy that almost cost her life and urged lawmakers to preserve doctors' ability to provide emergency treatment: "I did almost die from an ectopic pregnancy and it wasn't until I was able to get emergency surgery... I will always be so grateful to the doctors and nurses who did that."
Committee members voiced support before voting to send the bill to the floor. Representative Green said the measure was "one step closer" toward addressing clinicians' concerns, and Representative Keeley said it "reins in the excesses in the law and fundamentally improves legal process for patients and doctors." Chairman Crane moved the bill to the floor; the committee carried the motion by voice vote.
The bill amends statutory provisions tied to the heartbeat law (referenced in committee as Title 18, Chapter 88) to add a procedural mechanism modeled on anti‑SLAPP dismissal and a fee-shifting rule for successful defendants. The measure's supporters said it does not change the substantive statutory exceptions for treatment but changes civil-litigation procedure.
The committee took no roll-call on final passage to the floor; the motion was carried by voice vote. The bill will next appear on the House floor calendar.
