Last Chance for Health Freedom?

Can it get done before sine die?

Once Gov. Brad Little vetoed Senate Bill 1023, the Medical Freedom Act, the Legislature faced three choices: Override the veto, introduce a new bill, or give up and go home. While the House had a veto-proof majority to begin with, the Senate was still a few votes short, so it seemed prudent to quickly craft a new bill that addressed the governor’s concerns.

To that end, Sen. Dan Foreman introduced Senate Bill 1210 on Monday evening. The text of this bill clarifies that existing law still allows schools to send sick children home, without mandating any form of medical intervention, however, it also excluded daycare facilities from the definition of businesses that would be affected by this law. This came out of left field, as Gov. Little’s veto letter made no mention of daycares. However, it’s possible that he told Sen. Foreman that he wanted this exception in the bill if he was to sign it.

Why daycares? Interestingly enough, there is an upcoming hearing regarding this very issue. Ashley Tipon filed a lawsuit against New Horizons Academy, a daycare in Meridian, after her daughter was rejected for not being vaccinated. District judge Samuel Hoagland dismissed the suit with prejudice, but Tipton and her attorneys appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. Oral arguments are scheduled for May 5.

These issues go beyond the scope of just medical freedom, touching on issues related to freedom of association. Does a daycare have the right to refuse to enroll a child for any reason? Is this kind of situation closer to a business refusing service to someone because of the color of his skin, or an activist customer demanding a cake shop put words on a pastry that are offensive to the owner?

I don’t know, but the timing of inserting this carve-out into S1210 just weeks before a hearing on that very issue seems odd.

It might be moot anyway. Sen. Foreman was scheduled to present S1210 before the Senate State Affairs Committee at 2:00pm this afternoon, but the meeting has now been canceled.

Rep. Josh Tanner presented a new bill to House State Affairs this morning, one that addresses the governor’s concerns without adding any strange carve-outs. The one change from S1023 to House Bill 472 is in Section 4, Paragraph 4:

S1023:

A school operating in the state shall not mandate a medical intervention for any person to attend school, enter campus or school buildings, or be employed by the school.

H472:

A school operating in the state shall not mandate a medical intervention for any person to attend school, enter campus or school buildings, or be employed by the school; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall supersede the authority of a school district, or the board of trustees of a school district, as provided for in chapter 5, title 33, Idaho Code.

The debate became somewhat heated this morning when Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen pushed back on the bill, saying that she was worried that business owners would pay the price for employees who refused medical interventions. She related a story from her own business in which an employee injured his toes, but did not inform anyone that he suffered from diabetes. He chose to delay treatment, which allowed diabetic ulcers to develop. Mickelsen said it cost her business hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat this employee’s workplace injury.

Rep. Brooke Green pushed back as well, worried that daycare centers would be unable to mandate vaccinations for children. Rep. Todd Achilles asked about businesses that offer things like gym memberships to their employees. Rep. Tanner reiterated several times that daycares or other businesses are always free to make recommendations, but this bill would prohibit them from mandating medical interventions as a requirement for employment or service.

The committee voted to print H472, with Reps. Mickelsen, Green, and Achilles in opposition. Despite the short timeline of the remainder of the session, the committee will need to hold a full hearing on the bill before sending it to the House floor. I heard a rumor that House leadership was behind that decision.

Is H472 the answer? Will Gov. Little sign it, should it reach his desk? Is there enough time left in the session to get it done? Stay tuned.

As all of this plays out, Idaho Freedom Foundation announced a special Wednesday edition of Capitol Clarity this week featuring Leslie Manookian of Health Freedom Defense and Dr. Ryan Cole, who has hinted at a political challenge to the governor over this issue. Catch it live or online at 12:00pm tomorrow:

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