Although Idaho has a near-total abortion ban—with exceptions only for rape, incest, and saving a pregnant person’s life—some legislators don’t think that's enough. Outside of banning abortion in their state alone, they also hope to make it more difficult—and illegal—for some to travel outside of the state for the procedure.
GOP legislators in Idaho introduced a bill Tuesday that would make it harder for minors to get abortions in other states. Introduced by Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt, House Bill 98, makes it illegal to help transport a pregnant minor in or outside of Idaho for an abortion.
Under the bill, abortions would be considered “criminal,” and categorized as human trafficking if anyone were to help a pregnant person under 18 get an out-of-state abortion without the consent of a parent or legal guardian.
According to the bill, "recruiting, harboring, or transporting a pregnant minor with the intent to deprive the pregnant minor's parent of knowledge of, and to procure, a criminal abortion" would be considered "human trafficking.”
Penalties for violating the law would be two to five years in state prison.
The bill comes after an exodus of people traveling out of state for reproductive services. Because states like Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming have no restrictions on reproductive health care access, many individuals seeking abortions travel there, when they can.
According to Guttmacher Institute, 9% of abortions performed in the U.S. were done outside of one's state residence in 2020. That number has significantly increased since the fall of Roe v. Wade with the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022.
The bill bans traditional abortions performed by physicians, and also makes it a crime for anyone to provide “abortion-inducing drugs,” or medication abortion, to a pregnant minor in the state without parental consent.
Additionally, if passed, the bill would give Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador “sole discretion” to prosecute people who violate either the state’s human trafficking or abortion law if a county prosecutor refuses to bring charges.
When introducing the bill to the House State Affraid Committee, Ehardt said: “It is something that, unfortunately, is happening, and I don’t think any of us want to see our minors not only trafficked but in this situation. We will make sure that we have top-notch legal authority to deal with this.”
Ehardt ignores that not every minor is living in a safe home where discussions about pregnancy and abortion can take place. In many situations, youths may not be able to speak to their families and get consent. Worse, pregnant people who are denied a safe abortion may seek other means that could be unsafe, and are more likely to face poverty and complications with the pregnancy, a release from Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates said.
Commenting on the bill Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Indiana, Kentucky, said: "Most young people do involve their parents in a decision like this. We are talking about young people who are in extreme circumstances, who cannot involve their parents. To put criminal sanctions in place to punish not only the person seeking access to health care, but also those who are trying to help them is not going to solve these issues."
Gibron added that “preventing people—including minors—from accessing abortion is dangerous and irresponsible. I can’t think of anything more cruel than a state forcing a child to remain pregnant and punishing people who try to help them. Shame on these lawmakers. All Idahoans should be paying attention to this extreme attempt at government overreach to control our movements in and out of the state of Idaho.”
According to the Idaho Statesman, while the House State Affairs Committee voted Tuesday to introduce the bill, it is likely to return to the committee for a public hearing in the coming days or weeks.
Sarah Longwell is a longtime Republican strategist and prominent never-Trumper. Her podcast, The Focus Group, is a peek at the thousands of hours of focus groups she has conducted all across the country. Sarah comes on to give her thoughts about the state of the current Republican Party and why its future remains bleak.
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