It’s official. The State of Idaho has become the first in the nation to ban nearly all businesses – including public and private schools, and daycares – from mandating medical interventions as a condition of employment, receipt of goods and services, and receipt of education and child care. The bill sparked controversy in the state and nationwide earlier this week, when a carve out that would have exempted daycares from the prohibition against medical mandates was added to the bill immediately following Governor Brad Little’s veto of the bill. After a week’s worth of very hard work by local activists and their like-minded legislators, the bill passed both chambers of the Idaho legislature before being signed into law by Governor Little this evening. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Robert Beiswenger and Sen. Dan Foreman.
The new law defines a “medical intervention” as “a medical procedure, treatment, device, drug, injection, medication, or medical action taken to diagnose, prevent, or cure a disease or alter the health or biological function of a person.” Under the law, nearly all persons and business entities in the state are prohibited from mandating anything that fits within this definition, or from taking adverse action against any adult or child who refuses a medical intervention. With the passage of the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, Idaho leads the nation in protecting personal medical freedom (no offense to my friends in Florida). The final version of the bill can be viewed here.
The law does contain one exception clause. The ban on medical mandates does not apply “to any situation where personal protective equipment, items, or clothing are required by a business entity in the public or private sectors based on existing traditional and accepted industry standards or federal law. These exemptions to the prohibition on medical interventions shall not apply to or include any vaccines, mask requirements, or other medical interventions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.” So, in all likelihood, hospitals and clinics in the state will continue to mandate vaccination as a condition of employment under the “accepted industry standards or federal law.” But, keep in mind, industry standards and federal law may be changing quite a bit in the coming months and years, with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Special thanks must be given to the efforts of my good friend Leslie Manookian of Health Freedom Defense Fund, who drafted the original bill last year. Miste Karlfeldt of Health Freedom Idaho, and Sarah Clenendon of Health Freedom Idaho and the Idaho Freedom Foundation, also worked tirelessly this session to see that this bill was passed. As a citizen of Idaho myself, I also pitched in over the last week, testifying on the bill before the Senate. You can watch the emotional announcement of the bill’s passage from Leslie, Miste, and Sarah here.
Our attention now turns to We The Patriots USA’s lawsuit pending before the Idaho Supreme Court, scheduled for a hearing on May 5, 2025. That case is Tipton v. New Horizon Academy, and involves a daycare that refused to honor the religious exemption to vaccinations for a two-year-old child, expelling her from its facility. We are weighing our legal options in light of this new development in state law, so please stay tuned here for updates, and subscribe to our email list here. Please also consider making a gift in support of our legal work at wethepatriotsusa.org/donate.