Gov. Brad Little’s decision to sign the so-called Medical Ethics Defense Act into law is a dangerous step backward for health care in Idaho. Under this new law, health care providers and entities can now refuse to offer nonemergency care based on their personal religious or moral beliefs—no matter the cost to the patient.

This isn’t about protecting providers from rare ethical dilemmas. It’s about giving them legal cover to deny care to people they simply disapprove of—whether that’s a patient seeking birth control, fertility treatment, a vaccine or gender-affirming care. It opens the door to ideologically driven discrimination, not medical ethics.

The consequences are real and immediate. Idaho already faces severe health care shortages, particularly in rural areas. In communities with only one clinic or hospital, a provider’s refusal could mean no care at all. Patients will be left stranded—not because of medical necessity, but because of someone else’s personal beliefs.