New conscience law amendment bill introduced, with Loertscher’s backing

Rep. Julie Ellsworth, R-Boise, has introduced a measure to amend last year’s “conscience law” in what she called a “narrow” way to eliminate any conflict with the state’s law requiring physicians to follow patients’ living wills and advance care directives regarding what kind of treatments they want or don’t want as they die. “My intent here is to support the conscience law that you worked on as a committee, and to resolve a narrow conflict between the conscience law and the Natural Death Act,” Ellsworth told the House State Affairs Committee. “I know that none of the intent was to override a patient’s living will, but because there have been concerns that have arisen, this bill that the chairman and I are proposing to you is to put those concerns to rest.”

Ellsworth’s co-sponsors on the bill are House State Affairs Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona; Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls; and Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, the lead sponsor last year of the conscience law. The State Affairs Committee today voted unanimously to introduce the new measure with no discussion, clearing the way for a hearing.

The bill adds this sentence to the existing conscience law: “In cases where a living will or physician’s orders for scope of treatment (POST) is operative, as defined by the medical consent and natural death act, and a physician has a conscience objection to the treatment desired by the patient, the physician shall comply with the provisions of section 39-4513(2), Idaho Code, before withdrawing care and treatment to the patient.”