Idaho is sued, again, over an abortion law. Educators say it violates free speech
Idaho’s restrictive abortion laws have attracted another lawsuit, this time from educators.
Six professors and two teachers unions Tuesday sued the state over a 2021 law that bars public employees from promoting abortion or counseling in favor of the procedure. Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the educators, called the prohibitions “simultaneously sweeping and unclear,” leading professors to censor themselves and eliminate class content for fear of prosecution.
The lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court for Idaho to declare the law an infringement of First Amendment rights and block state and local prosecutors from enforcing it.
“It’s vital for Idaho’s public universities to have autonomy in fostering vibrant debate on their campuses, free from government interference,” Leo Morales, executive director for the ACLU of Idaho, said in a news release. “However, Idaho’s abortion censorship law directly undermines that autonomy, attempting to restrict educators’ free speech and stoke fear of retaliation for such speech in our state.”
State Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, former Sen. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, and the Idaho Family Policy Center, a religious lobbying group, co-wrote the legislation. Most Republicans in the Legislature supported the 2021 bill.
“Their meritless lawsuit won’t be successful,” Blaine Conzatti, president of the Family Policy Center, said in a news release Tuesday. “The ‘No Public Funds For Abortion Act’ simply does not infringe on academic speech protected by the First Amendment, including classroom discussion on the topics related to abortion.”
Idaho professors censor classroom content
The abortion law, which lawmakers called the “No Public Funds for Abortion Act,” made it a crime for public employees to “promote abortion” or “counsel in favor of abortion.” But the law is unconstitutionally vague about what kind of speech is permissible, ACLU attorneys argued.
“It creates a set of poorly defined concepts and perspectives that must be avoided if we are to protect ourselves from draconian penalties,” Martin Orr, president of the Idaho Federation of Teachers, said in the news release. “This makes reasoned discussion impossible. How can we teach about U.S. society without addressing abortion — one of the defining cultural and political issues of the day?”
The plaintiffs included five professors at the University of Idaho, who teach philosophy, political science, American literature and journalism, as well as a Boise State University social work professor. The Idaho Federation of Teachers — a state chapter of the American Federation of Teachers that represents faculty at Boise State, U of I and Idaho State University — and the University of Idaho Faculty Federation are also challenging the abortion law.
In September, the U of I sent a memo to employees that recommended limits on discussions of abortion in the classroom. A U of I philosophy professor “excised an entire module on human reproduction,” including reading assignments and a class discussion, from a biomedical ethics course because she feared prosecution under the law, according to the lawsuit.
“In addition to pulling course modules and reading materials, professors have curtailed lectures and classroom discussion; stopped assigning, evaluating and giving meaningful feedback on student research and writing; and refrained from pursuing certain scholarship or publicizing their academic work,” attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Public employees who violate the law can be fired and charged with “misuse of public moneys.” The crime results in a misdemeanor or felony conviction that can carry up to $10,000 in fines and a maximum 14-year prison sentence.
The educators named as defendants Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and the county prosecutors responsible for enforcing abortion laws where the universities are located, including Ada, Bannock and Latah counties.
States sue Idaho over abortion travel ban
Educators’ challenge to the state’s restriction on abortion speech adds to a slew of lawsuits Idaho has faced this year over its abortion laws. A separate Idaho abortion restriction, which bans helping minors obtain abortions out of state, has gained national attention and prompted 19 states and Washington, D.C., to join a lawsuit against Idaho. The initial lawsuit was filed by an Idaho attorney who represents survivors of domestic and sexual violence last month.
The first-of-its-kind law, enacted this year, prohibits traveling with a minor to another state for an abortion, or helping a minor obtain an abortion-inducing drug, without consulting one of their parents or guardians. The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Idaho’s neighbors “are already flooded with Idahoans seeking abortion care,” wrote Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson in a court brief. “The threatened criminalization of travel and provision of information will delay patients’ ability to access lawful care, leading to increased health risks, illness and death.”
Last year, the Idaho Supreme Court upheld Idaho’s near-total abortion ban against a constitutional challenge by Idaho abortion providers and attorneys from Planned Parenthood. But the U.S. Justice Department won an injunction on Idaho’s criminal abortion penalties in emergency situations, after federal attorneys successfully argued that the restrictions could jeopardize the health of a pregnant patient.
Another lawsuit was decided last week, when U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Labrador can’t seek criminal penalties against medical providers who refer patients out of state for legal abortions. A gynecologist and a family doctor sued Labrador after he issued a legal opinion declaring that out-of-state abortion referrals violate Idaho law.
