Idaho Gov. Brad Little vetoes bill to ban medical requirements in business, schools, government

Gov. Brad Little vetoed a bill to ban Idaho businesses, local and state governments, private and public schools, and colleges and universities from requiring medical interventions, such as vaccines, treatment or medication.

Senate Bill 1023, called the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, would have banned businesses and any Idaho governments — local, county or state — from requiring medical interventions for employment, admission to venues, transportation, or providing products or services. 

The bill would’ve also extended to schools in Idaho — private or public — and colleges, universities and trade schools, blocking them from requiring medical interventions for school attendance, employment, or entrance into campus or school buildings.

Little vetoed the bill Saturday — the first bill the Idaho governor has vetoed this year.

“Medical freedom is an Idaho value. However, this bill removes parents’ freedom to ensure their children stay healthy at school because it jeopardizes the ability of schools to send home sick students with highly contagious conditions including measles, lice, ringworm, pink eye, strep throat, stomach viruses, the flu, and other illnesses that disrupt families’ lives,” Little wrote in a transmittal letter explaining his veto.

This year, Little signed into law a bill to let Idaho doctors and health care entities refuse care that violates their beliefs. He cited that bill as one of several examples of his support of “true medical freedom in Idaho.”

“We are proud that Idaho already boasts the freest laws in the country when it comes to personal medical decisions, and we need to keep it that way,” Little wrote. “Parents already have enough to worry about while raising their children. They do not need government imposing more limitations on keeping children safe and healthy from contagious illnesses at school.”