After two days of emotional testimony overwhelmingly opposed to the bill, the House State Affairs Committee has voted along straight party lines to pass SB 1353, Sen. Chuck Winder's "conscience" bill to permit any licensed health care provider to refuse, on conscience grounds, to provide any treatment or medication related to abortion, emergency contraception or end-of-life care. Rep. Elfreda Higgins, D-Garden City, offered a motion to remove the part about end-of-life care, but it, too, failed along party lines, with just Democrats supporting it, and Republicans opposing it.

Higgins said the bill threatens to override patients' advance directives or living wills, and shared the story of the death of her father, a minister who had a living will stating that he didn't want his life preserved by artificial means. But when he was in the hospital dying, the hospital didn't have a copy of the will. Against his wishes, he was resuscitated, given medications that paralyzed him and kept alive by machines, while Higgins and her relatives worked with a lawyer to stop it. When they prevailed, he was taken off the machines, and lived for five more days before dying in peace, holding his daughter's hand. He told her the experience on the medication and machines was the worst one of his life. Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, countered that he didn't think the proposed law would affect such cases, because it would protect health care providers who don't want to be "required to provide" a treatment. "That's a different situation than a DNR," he said. The bill, which already has passed the Senate, now moves to the full House.

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