Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 59, the Medical Ethics Defense Act, letting providers refuse care on conscience grounds

On March 19, 2025, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 59, the "Medical Ethics Defense Act," into law. The statute establishes a right of conscience for health care providers, health care institutions, and health care payors to decline to participate in, or to pay for, nonemergency medical procedures, treatments, or services that violate their religious, moral, or ethical beliefs, and it shields those who exercise the exemption from civil liability, discrimination claims, and adverse licensing or employment action. The bill carried an emergency clause and took effect immediately on signing.

The measure moved through the Legislature largely on party lines and was carried by Republican sponsors, including Sen. Carl Bjerke and Rep. Bruce Skaug. Supporters framed it as protecting medical professionals and institutions from being compelled to act against their beliefs.

Opponents, including Planned Parenthood, warned that the law amounted to "a license to discriminate," and it was catalogued among the 2025 slate of measures affecting LGBTQ+ Idahoans for its potential use to deny care to LGBTQ+ patients and to refuse gender-affirming services. Critics noted the exemption sets no standard to separate a genuine conscience objection from discrimination, leaving patients seeking disfavored care exposed to refusals across a broad range of providers, institutions, and insurers.