Idaho Statutes Title 54. Professions, Vocations, and Businesses § 54-1304. Right of conscience of health care providers

(1) Health care providers shall have the right of conscience and, pursuant to this right, shall not be required to participate in or pay for a medical procedure, treatment, or service that violates such health care provider's conscience.

(2) The exercise of the right of conscience is limited to conscience-based objections to a particular medical procedure, treatment, or service.  This section may not be construed to waive or modify any duty a health care provider may have to provide or pay for medical procedures, treatments, or services that do not violate the provider's conscience.

(3) A health care professional shall communicate to the health care professional's employer a conscience-based objection when it occurs or as soon as reasonably possible to allow an employer to make necessary staffing adjustments without delaying the provision of health care services.  Nothing in this chapter shall prevent an employer from requiring an employee to disclose the employee's conscience-based objections at the time of hiring, but such disclosure shall not limit the rights protected by this chapter.

(4) Conscience-based objections shall be provided in writing by an employee if requested by the employer.

(5) A health care payer shall not decline payment for a medical procedure, treatment, or service that it is contractually obligated to pay for under the terms of its contract with an insured party.

(6) No health care provider shall be discriminated against in any manner as a result of exercising the right of conscience pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

(7) No health care provider shall be civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for exercising the right of conscience described in subsection (1) of this section, and no health care institution shall be civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for the exercise of the right of conscience described in subsection (1) of this section by a health care professional employed, contracted, or granted admitting privileges by the health care institution.

(8) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impede the right of a religious health care provider to make employment, staffing, contracting, administrative, and admitting privilege decisions consistent with such health care provider's religious beliefs if such health care provider holds itself out to the public as religious and has internal operating policies or procedures that implement its religious purpose or mission.

(9) To the extent that this chapter provides broader rights of conscience than that provided by section 18-611, Idaho Code, this chapter controls over section 18-611, Idaho Code.  To the extent that this chapter is not enforceable with respect to any rights of conscience protected by section 18-611, Idaho Code, then section 18-611, Idaho Code, shall control.

(10) Nothing in this chapter shall affect the rights of conscience provided for in section 18-612, Idaho Code, to the extent that those rights are broader in scope than those provided for in this chapter.

(11) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to override the requirement to provide emergency medical treatment to all patients as set forth in 42 U.S.C. 1395dd.

(12) The protections in this chapter shall not apply if an employee is unable to perform any essential function, the employer cannot transfer the employee to a suitable alternative position for which the employee is qualified, and the employer is otherwise unable to reasonably accommodate the employee without imposing an undue hardship on the employer.

(13) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as providing a health care provider with civil immunity for the failure to comply with the applicable community standard of care as described in section 6-1012, Idaho Code.