Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs Medical Freedom Act banning vaccine mandates

04/09/2025 / By Laura Harris

Republican Gov. Brad Little signed the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, banning businesses, schools and government entities from requiring vaccines or other medical interventions as a condition for employment, attendance or services.
The governor vetoed an earlier version over concerns that it could prevent schools from excluding sick students. The revised bill clarifies that institutions can still turn away actively ill individuals but cannot enforce preventative medical mandates (like vaccines).
Schools cannot bar unvaccinated students during disease outbreaks unless the illness in question is the one they lack immunization against.
The bill passed the Idaho House (44-23) and Senate (27-6) with no debate before being swiftly signed into law on April 4.
Supporters, including bill author Leslie Manookian, hailed the law as a victory for bodily autonomy, urging other states to follow Idaho’s lead in rejecting government-imposed medical mandates.

Republican Gov. Brad Little of Idaho has signed the law that will prohibit businesses, schools and government entities to direct most medical mandates, including vaccination requirements.

Little initially vetoed the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, as it could prevent schools from excluding students with contagious illnesses.

The revised version of the bill clarifies that schools and businesses can turn away sick individuals but cannot require medical interventions (including vaccines) as a condition of employment, attendance or service. Additionally, schools cannot exclude unvaccinated children during outbreaks of diseases for which they are not immunized. (Related: Austrian government drops COVID-19 vaccine mandate.)

Idaho Medical Freedom Act, which passed into law on April 4 after revisions to address earlier concerns, bans employers, schools and public venues from requiring medical interventions, such as vaccines, for employment, admission or access to services. This explicitly reaffirms the right of schools and businesses to exclude individuals who are actively sick but forbids mandates on preventative medical treatments.

The bill passed the Idaho House 44-23 and cleared the Senate 27-6 with no debate before Little swiftly signed it into law.

Bill author Manookian and other supporters hail passage of Idaho Medical Freedom Act into law

Leslie Manookian, the president of the Health Freedom Defense Fund and author of the bill, could not help but post her excitement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“HE SIGNED!!! The IDAHO MEDICAL FREEDOM ACT is LAW. Idaho is the freest state!!! Congrats & gratitude to my health freedom sisters @liberty4_ever @ClendenonSarah and all the legislators who made this dream come true. @robbeiswenger @josh_idaho,” Manookian posted, along with a video of her together with co-organizers Miste Karlfeldt and Sarah Clendenon.

Karlfeldt echoed a similar statement and “hope to see all states secure their medical freedom rights.”

“We have set the bar and now other states in the nation are modeling bills after Idaho’s Medical Freedom Act,” Karlfeldt said. “Louisiana has one right now it’s hoping will pass because Idaho was brave enough to pass this monumental legislation. We hope to see all states secure their medical freedom rights as we have in the great state of Idaho.”

Sayer Ji, the founder of GreenMedInfo and the Global Wellness Forum, also hailed the news as a “historical and revolutionary affirmation of the inalienable right to bodily autonomy.”

“In an era when coercive medical mandates have deeply eroded public trust and violated constitutional protections, this bill reasserts a foundational truth: that every individual has the sovereign right to make personal health decisions without fear of discrimination, punishment, or exclusion.

“By codifying health freedom into state law, Idaho is doing more than protecting its citizens – it is lighting the way for a nationwide return to constitutional governance, medical ethics and human dignity. This is not merely legislation. It is a landmark declaration of principles that can – and must – resonate far beyond state borders.”

Learn more about the fight against COVID-19 vaccine mandates at HealthFreedom.news.

Watch this episode of “The HighWire” as host Del Bigtree talks about how the state government of Florida has forced the Special Olympics to drop its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

This video is from the channel The HighWire with Del Bigtree on Brighteon.com.