18-1505A. ABANDONING A VULNERABLE ADULT. (1) Any person who abandons a vulnerable adult, as that term is defined in section 18-1505, Idaho Code, in deliberate disregard of the vulnerable adult’s safety or welfare, regardless of whether the vulnerable adult suffered physical harm from the act of abandonment, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a period not in excess of five (5) years, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment. It shall not be a defense to prosecution under the provisions of this section that the perpetrator lacked the financial ability or means to provide food, clothing, shelter or medical care reasonably necessary to sustain the life and health of a vulnerable adult.

(2) As used in this section "abandon" means the desertion or willful forsaking of a vulnerable adult by any individual, caretaker as defined by subsection (4)(b) of section 18-1505, Idaho Code, or entity which has assumed responsibility for the care of the vulnerable adult by contract, receipt of payment of care, any relationship arising from blood or marriage wherein the vulnerable adult has become the dependent of another or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that abandon shall not mean the termination of services to a vulnerable adult by a physician licensed under chapter 18, title 54, Idaho Code, or anyone under his direct supervision, where the physician determines, in the exercise of his professional judgment, that termination of such services is in the best interests of the patient.

History:

[18-1505A, added 1993, ch. 179, sec. 1, p. 460; am. 1994, ch. 136, sec. 4, p. 309; am. 2005, ch. 166, sec. 2, p. 507.]