Idaho
Senate Bill 1270 (2010)
Freedom of Conscience for Health Care
Professionals
The bill was replaced by
Senate Bill
1353.
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixtieth Legislature Second Regular Session 2010
IN THE SENATE
AN ACT RELATING TO ABORTION AND
CONTRACEPTIVES; AMENDING CHAPTER 6, TITLE 18, IDAHO
CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 18611, IDAHO
CODE, TO DEFINE TERMS, TO PROVIDE FREEDOM OF
CONSCIENCE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, TO PROVIDE
IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY, TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION AND
TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION; AND PROVIDING
SEVERABILITY.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Idaho:
SECTION 1. That Chapter 6, Title
18, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended
by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be
known and designated as Section 18-611,Idaho Code,
and to read as follows:
18-611. Freedom of Conscience for Health Care
Professionals
(1) As used in this section:
(a)
"Conscience" means the religious, moral or ethical
principles sincerely held by any person.
(b) "Health care professional"
means any person licensed, certified or registered by the state of Idaho to deliver health
care.
(c) "Health care service" means an
abortion, dispensation of an abortifacient
drug or drugs that may act as abortifacients, human
embryonic stem cell research, human embryo cloning,
euthanasia orassisted suicide.
(d) "Provide" means to counsel,
advise, perform, dispense, assist in orrefer for any
health care service.
(2) No health care professional shall be required
to provide any health care service that violates his
or her conscience.
(3) Employers of health care professionals shall
reasonably accommodate the conscience rights of
their employees as provided in this section, upon
written notification by the employee. Such notice
shall suffice without specification of the reason
therefor.
(4) No health care professional or employer of
the health care professional shall be civilly,
criminally or administratively liable for the health
care professional declining to provide health care
services that violate his or her conscience.
(5) It shall be unlawful to discriminate against
any health care professional based upon his or her
declining to provide a health care service that
violates his or her conscience, unless the
accommodation of a health care professional's
conscience rights creates an undue hardship on the
employer. If an employer determines that an undue
hardship is created, the employer shall make an
effort to work with the affected health care
professional to find a reasonable accommodation of
the health care professional's conscience rights.
(6) The provisions of this section do not allow a
health care professional or employer of the health
care professional to refuse to provide health care
services because of the patient's race, color,
religion, sex, age, disability or national origin.
(7) Nothing in this section shall affect the
rights of conscience provided for in section 18-612,
Idaho Code, to the extent that those rights are
broader in scope than those provided for in this
section.
SECTION 2. The provisions of
this act are hereby declared to be severable and if
any provision of this act or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance is declared
invalid for any reason, such declaration shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of
this act.