House GOP Backs End-Of-Life Treatment Bill

Doctors and nurses in Idaho could soon face stricter limits on when they can withhold care to dying patients without the patient’s consent.

The House voted 57-12 Wednesday along largely party lines to approve a measure some pro-life groups say is needed to bolster respect for people’s lives – at the end of their lives.

The Senate already approved the measure, so it’s headed to Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s desk.

House sponsor Rep. Erik Simpson of Idaho Falls said the bill remedies loopholes that could allow physicians to deny life-prolonging treatments against the wishes of patients’ family members.

But Democrats including House Minority Leader John Rusche, a medical doctor, worried this measure creates potential conflicts with laws meant to protect medical staff who must make heart-wrenching decisions about dying patients.