Rating: +1

Bill Summary:
Senate Bill 1210 (2025), titled the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, prohibits both public and private entities in Idaho from requiring or discriminating based on a person’s use or refusal of any medical intervention. Expanding beyond prior COVID-specific legislation, the bill broadly defines “medical intervention” to include any medical procedure, treatment, device, drug, injection, or action intended to diagnose, prevent, or treat illness.

The legislation bans businesses from requiring medical interventions as a condition of service, employment, transportation, or venue access—except in cases where federal law or foreign jurisdictions demand it. Any such requirement must be disclosed in a written contract or with at least 14 days’ notice. Ticket issuers are also prohibited from denying entry based on a person’s intervention status.

Schools—public, private, and parochial—are barred from requiring medical interventions for students or staff, subject to existing carve-outs in Idaho Code. Government entities are forbidden from conditioning benefits, services, licensing, or public access on intervention status. The bill also forbids differential wages or benefits based on vaccination status, while still allowing one-time incentives.

The act allows enforcement by the Idaho Attorney General or county prosecutors, authorizing injunctive relief and reimbursement of legal fees. It blocks state agencies from adopting any policy or rule that conflicts with the law and explicitly bars the exclusion of healthy individuals during a disease outbreak based on vaccine status. Standard personal protective equipment mandates, unrelated to COVID-19 interventions, are exempt.

The bill includes an emergency clause and becomes law on July 1, 2025.

Reason for Rating:
This legislation represents a major affirmation of medical freedom, individual autonomy, and limited government—all central pillars of the Idaho Republican Party Platform (Article I, Sections 1A, 1F, and 1G; Article XIII, Section 2). It prohibits the kind of coercive mandates that undermined civil liberties during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensures no person in Idaho will be denied work, services, or access to public life based on their private health decisions. While certain narrow exceptions exist for federal compliance, the bill provides strong legal recourse and sets clear limits on both government and corporate overreach in medical matters. It is a clear, enforceable, and values-aligned defense of individual rights, earning a positive rating.