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Senate committee approves print for bill renaming Coronavirus Stop Act as 'Idaho Medical Freedom Act'
Summary
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send RS 31876 to print. The proposal would replace references to coronavirus with the term “medical intervention” and would restrict medical-intervention mandates by public bodies, schools and many employers in Idaho.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on a voice vote sent RS 31876 to print, a proposal from Senator Dan Foreman that would retitle and broaden the existing Coronavirus Stop Act.
Senator Dan Foreman, presenting the measure as a member from District 6, said the bill “modifies the existing coronavirus stop act by changing the title to the Idaho Medical Freedom Act and by deleting specific references to the coronavirus,” and replaces references to the coronavirus with the term “medical intervention.” He defined that term in the presentation as “any pharmaceutical or biological agent or product designed to alter or restrict the biological functioning of the human body.”
The measure, as described to the committee, would bar state, county and local government entities from requiring a medical intervention and would forbid conditioning receipt of government benefits or services on receiving a medical intervention. It would also prohibit public, private and parochial schools — including preschools, K–12 schools and postsecondary institutions — from requiring medical interventions as a condition of attendance, employment, campus entry or receiving services. Foreman said the bill would also prevent businesses operating in Idaho from requiring medical interventions as a term of employment, except where federal law mandates such a requirement for travel to a foreign jurisdiction.
The sponsor framed the proposal as protecting individual choice. “The decision to what a citizen puts into his or her body involves a personal choice that should be made free from undue outside influence or intimidation,” Foreman said.
Senator Wintrow said she supported sending the measure to print but noted she had questions about the bill’s definitions and the scope of restrictions on businesses. “The biggest one I have is really about the restrictions on business entities and really what a medical intervention is,” she said, adding she had not yet read the full text and planned to ask additional questions at the print hearing.
Motion and vote: Senator Lenny moved to send RS 31876 to print; the motion was seconded by Senator Zieterfeld. The committee approved the motion on a voice vote.
The print referral begins the formal process for scheduling a public hearing and does not represent passage of the bill on its merits.
