Davids v. Adams

Update: On June 30, 2025, the court issued a ruling granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) in Davids v. Adams, protecting the individual patient plaintiffs from a ban on access to life-saving HIV medication through the Ryan White Program, a federally funded program that provides critical medical care and medications to low-income people living with HIV who lack other means of obtaining treatment.

The TRO stops the law from being enforced for 14 days while the court considers plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The court scheduled a hearing on the preliminary injunction for July 15, 2025 at 1:00pm.

Case Overview

House Bill 135 was passed during the 2025 legislative session to impose new immigrant verification requirements in programs that are not restricted under federal laws including access to  food pantries and soup kitchens, prenatal and postnatal care, vaccines and life-saving medications to treat communicable diseases such as HIV, and more. Prior to the new law, these benefits were available to Idaho residents without having to verify immigration status.

The lawsuit is asking for a temporary restraining order to stop this new state law ban on HIV medication for immigrants of any legal status. The state has informed the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to cease providing HIV medication to immigrants in need, without which they will suffer a variety of serious health issues, including, potentially, death.  

The plaintiffs are Dr. Abby Davids, a medical practitioner at Full Circle Health, and five anonymous plaintiffs who are HIV-positive immigrants. 

The lawsuit argues House Bill 135 attempts to subvert federal law, which allows access to certain federally funded public benefits programs, including the Ryan White HIV AIDS Program, without regard to citizenship or immigration status.