The Idaho House passed HB216 by a strong 48-21 vote this morning after vigorous debate.

Most Democrats opposed the bill, with many arguing against its passage. The theme of their opposition was that 1) this bill is unnecessary because pharmacists already are protected and 2) if we pass this bill, terrible things will happen.

Rep. Cliff Bayer hit a home run during his debate in support of the bill when he observed that such argumentation was circular: Either pharmacists are being compelled to violate their conscience now, or the dire predictions are unlikely to happen.

In other debate, we once again witnessed an Idaho legislator make the argument that if a pharmacist has a conscience issue, then he or she should leave the profession. This goes to the heart of the matter. The Abortion Lobby demands a conformity and submission to their views and agenda; the only people entitled to “freedom of choice” are those “enlightened” persons who agree with them. Regardless of your position on abortion, you should be troubled by this form of tyranny.

Our deep appreciation to Rep. Tom Loertscher for carrying legislation which protects freedom, rather than denying it; this is truly a rare moment for any modern legislative body.