Idaho leaders continue to review faith healing laws

Legislative leaders are currently considering several options to change Idaho’s faith healing laws, but details about what’s being discussed are being kept under wraps. Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, of Idaho Falls, said Friday that he had met with Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and legislative leaders over the past week to discuss Idaho’s statute that allows families to cite religious reasons for medical decisions without fear of being charged with a crime should be repealed. Hill declined to mention what language is being reviewed, but said he was confident a faith-healing-related bill would be introduced this legislative session. Focus on the exemption has exploded over the past year in Idaho as more attention has been placed on the deaths of children among members of the Followers of Christ in southwestern Idaho from treatable conditions, including pneumonia and food poisoning. Many children are buried at a cemetery overlooking the Snake River.