Idaho settles lawsuit on living wills for pregnant people

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho has agreed to change its living will template so that pregnant people won't be kept on life support against their wishes.

The move is part of a legal settlement reached this week with four women who sued in federal court in 2018.

They alleged the state’s law governing advance health care directives discriminated based on gender and subjected pregnant people to different medical treatment than others.

That's because Idaho's advance directive template included a line that said the directive was void for the duration of a pregnancy.

Besides changing the template, the state will notify those who have already registered a living will of the change.