Loertscher Blocks ‘Conscience’ Fixes

There are now three bills seeking to amend Idaho’s “conscience law” to protect patients’ living wills and advance care directives from being overridden by a caregiver as they’re dying, but one House committee chairman has buried all three in his desk drawer and refused to hold hearings on them. Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, said Monday, “Where we don’t want to go is we don’t want to compel the health care provider to assist somebody to commit suicide.” Asked if he was equating assisted suicide with living wills or advance care directives that call for disconnecting a dying patient’s artificial life supports, such as ventilators or feeding tubes, Loertscher said, “You could view it that way”/ Betsy Russell , Eye On Boise. More here .

Question: Do ” conscience law” fixes supported by Idaho AARP and others deserve a hearing?