House and Senate Democratic leaders have issued a joint news release, decrying the introduction of three bills in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday that require an ultrasound before a woman can get an abortion, decry a federal insurance rule on contraceptive coverage, and order doctors not to deny feeding or other life-preserving care to patients against their will, even if the treatment is "deemed medically inappropriate or futile." All three measures were introduced on party-line votes, over Democratic objections.
Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, who voted against introducing all three measures, said, “After watching this very same committee summarily refuse to print a bill extending coverage for sexual orientation and gender identity to Idaho’s existing Human Rights Act, it is stunning to me how very quickly they voted to print bills that violate the right of Idaho citizens to determine their own health-care needs.” Click below for the Dems' full statement.
Idaho State Senate
Idaho House of Representatives
Democratic Leadership
State Capitol
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0081
Media Advisory
For immediate release - Wednesday, February 29, 2012
BOISE- On Monday, the Senate State Affairs Committee printed, on straight party-line votes, three bills that would threaten the health of women, challenge existing Idaho statute and put family planning decisions in the hands of the state. This attack on Idaho families comes on the heels of similar bills debated last week in the House. Senator Michelle Stennett said, “These votes, from a group that decries the overreach of the federal government, would be laughable if they didn’t threaten the core values of Idahoans who cherish the freedom to make intensely personal decisions that impact their lives on their own.”
The first bill represents a symbolic memorial to President Obama sponsored by Senator Sheryl Nuxoll (SJM104). It addresses an existing rule that empowers insurers to offer contraception coverage to employees of religious-affiliated institutions at no charge, thus affirming the religious freedom of these institutions. The majority of Americans support the new family planning rule. According to Senator Dan J Schmidt, a medical doctor, “It is only fair that women and families have access to family planning. We should not reject this compromise that respects employers values and personal freedoms.”
The second bill (SB1348), also sponsored by Senator Nuxoll, suggests that doctors are currently denying vital life-saving treatment to patients who are elderly, disabled or terminally ill and seeks to resolve this so-called problem. “It is highly insulting to insinuate that there is currently a problem with doctors purposely withholding care that would save the lives of their patients,” said House Minority Leader John Rusche, also an M.D. “The last thing we need is a new law to solve a non-problem when there are valuable pieces of legislation we could be passing to improve lives.”
Finally, a third bill was introduced which would require an ultrasound procedure before any Idaho woman could have an abortion (SB1349). Senate Minority Leader Edgar J. Malepeai voted against printing all three bills. “After watching this very same committee summarily refuse to print a bill extending coverage for sexual orientation and gender identity to Idaho’s existing Human Rights Act, it is stunning to me how very quickly they voted to print bills that violate the right of Idaho citizens to determine their own health-care needs.”
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.
