Bill Description: Senate Bill 1316 would expand the allowable exemptions for a parent or guardian to decline otherwise mandated tests and procedures for newborns.

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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

Chapter 9, Title 39, Idaho Code, mandates a variety of tests and procedures for newborns, and that list could soon be expanded. 

Section 39-907, Idaho Code, within that chapter, provides only a narrow exception for a parent or guardian to object if a mandate “conflicts with the tenets or practices of a recognized church or religious denomination of which said parent or guardian is an adherent or member.”

Senate Bill 1316 would expand this language to say the provisions of the chapter shall not apply to any child whose parent or guardian “objects on religious or other grounds, including philosophical or conscientious beliefs; or submits a certificate signed by a physician licensed by the state board of medicine stating that the physical condition of the child is such that all or any of the requirements of this chapter would endanger the life or health of the child.”

While it would be preferable to have an opt-in system where all tests and procedures require affirmative parental consent, expanding the exemptions is a positive step to protect the fundamental right of parents to make all medical decisions for their children. 

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