Bill Description: House Bill 757 (H757) will amend and add to Title 16, Idaho Code, to redefine medical neglect regarding children and vulnerable adults; reinforce parental authority, and better align statutory standards with family and medical autonomy.
Rating: +3
Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?
H757 amends state law regarding how and when “a parent, guardian, or custodian” can be held liable for medical neglect involving children or vulnerable adults. The added subsections limit the scope of enforcement by narrowing when the state can charge someone with medical neglect. Current Idaho statute defines the neglect of a child as “Who is without proper parental care and control, or subsistence, medical or other care or control necessary for his well-being because of the conduct or omission of his parents, guardian or other custodian or their neglect or refusal to provide them.” The neglect of a vulnerable adult is stated to be the “failure of a caregiver to provide food, clothing, shelter, or medical care, the absence of which impairs or threatens sustainable life or health of a vulnerable adult.”
Under this broad language in existing statute, caregivers may be and often are prosecuted if they fail to provide what allopathic medical professionals deem to be valid or sufficient medical care, regardless of whether other medical treatments were potentially sought. H757 would permit caregivers to seek medical advice and treatment from alternative licensed medical providers without criminal exposure and provides carveouts (conflicting medical advice; side effects outweighing benefits) that give caregivers broader leeway in decision-making, curtailing state power over families in medical decision-making. This is a limited-government reform of child welfare law.
(+1)
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?
H757 upholds inherent rights guaranteed by the Constitution, such as parental rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently recognized that parents have a fundamental right to make decisions regarding the education, healthcare, and upbringing of their children — subject only to state action narrowly tailored to protect children from proven or legally substantiated harm. Though precedent in Idaho courts is often opposite, the constitutional standard generally requires that state interference be justified by clear and imminent danger to the life or health of a child, which this bill codifies.
H757 further affirms parental rights by codifying provisions for caregivers to pursue any alternative medical treatments necessary for their children or vulnerable adults’ well being, stating, “The parent, guardian, or custodian has sought alternative medical treatment for the child as an alternative to treatment recommended by a physician, as defined by section 54-1803, Idaho Code, or another licensed health care provider who has examined or treated the minor” and “The guardian has sought alternative treatment for the vulnerable adult as an alternative to treatment recommended by a physician, as defined by section 54-1803, Idaho Code, or another licensed health care provider who has examined or treated the vulnerable adult.” This puts power back in the hands of parents and legal caretakers, rather than the state.
(+1)
Additionally, H757 provides protections for parents and caregivers to deny any recommended treatments given to them by medical professionals if the parents or caretaker decide it is not in the best interest of the child or vulnerable adult. Parents know their children best and should be able to consider all of their medical options and determine what actions are necessary.
(+1)
