Idaho Governor Signs Landmark Bill Combatting ‘Abortion Trafficking’
Idaho governor Brad Little signed a landmark bill on Wednesday banning adults from assisting minors in their efforts to procure an abortion out of state.
“With the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe vs. Wade last summer, the right and duty to establish legal policy on abortion was finally returned to our state democratic process,” Little wrote in a letter to state lawmakers on Wednesday.
“The ‘abortion trafficking’ provision in the bill seeks to only prevent unemancipated minor girls from being taken across state lines for an abortion without the knowledge and consent of her parent or guardian,” he added.
Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, Idaho has adopted one of the most stringent bans on abortion in the United States, making the termination of pregnancy illegal at all stages, apart from cases involving rape, incest, or threat to the mother’s life.
Giving minors “money, giving them a ride, helping them organize the visit to a doctor out of state — all of the activity that’s required to help a young person leave the state — any of that would be punishable,” Elisabeth Smith, a director of policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told NBC News.
“House Bill 242 might be the most extreme bill that I’ve ever seen in my career,” Smith added.
The new bill appears to be a response to neighboring states, notably Oregon, identifying themselves as sanctuaries for women seeking legal access to abortions.
“Oregon doesn’t turn away anyone seeking health care. Period,” then-governor Kate Brown said last summer. “For all the Americans today feeling scared, angry and disappointed — for everyone who needs an abortion and does not know where they can access safe reproductive health care — please know you are not alone, and the fight is not over.”
A local chapter of Planned Parenthood condemned the bill’s novel ban. “This legislation is despicable, and we’re going to do everything in our power to stop it,” the group tweeted on Wednesday night.
Yet again, Idaho's governor disregarded constituents and signed HB 242 into law, creating the nation’s first crime of so-called “abortion trafficking." This legislation is despicable, and we’re going to do everything in our power to stop it. #idleg https://t.co/8chQTwm7DO
— Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates – West (@PPAAWest) April 5, 2023
“This bill criminalizes an adult assisting a young person accessing abortion care with the intent of concealing the abortion from their parent. While most young people include their parents in the decision to get an abortion, some are in dangerous, abusive situations.”
The new legislation will go into effect in May.
