As reported by AP: Legal limits on abortion-related travel are the focus of a new law and a new lawsuit in Idaho, with Gov. Brad Little signing a bill Wednesday that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent.
Meanwhile, two doctors and a regional Planned Parenthood affiliate have filed a lawsuit over the state’s newly released interpretation of a separate anti-abortion law because the attorney general says it prohibits physicians from even referring patients to out-of-state abortion providers.
The new “ abortion trafficking ” law signed on Wednesday, is the first of its kind in the U.S. It makes it illegal to either obtain abortion pills for a minor or to help them leave the state for an abortion without their parents’ knowledge and consent. Anyone convicted will face two to five years in prison and could also be sued by the minor’s parent or guardian. Parents who raped their child will not be able to sue, though the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion will remain in effect.
The law also gives the attorney general the ability to prosecute someone for alleged violations of the law, even if the county prosecutor — who would normally be responsible for filing a criminal case — declines to prosecute.
To sidestep violating a constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho’s law makes illegal only the in-state segment of a trip to an out-of-state abortion provider.
Still, Planned Parenthood Federation of America wrote in a press release that the law raises pressing concerns about the state’s legal ability to restrict residents from traveling to neighboring states to access abortion care.
The law will isolate young people and put them in danger, including those who are in abusive situations, Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Alexis McGill Johnson said.
“They will stop at nothing to control what we do and where we go — even if it means holding people hostage when trying to access essential health services,” McGill Johnson wrote in the release.
Opponents have promised a legal battle.
“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,” Idaho State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates-West said Wednesday on Twitter.
Idaho, like many states, has multiple abortion laws on the books.
That the Idaho Governor signed the abortion bill into law is highly commendable even though it falls far short of an outright criminalization of the despicably murderous act. I would have loved a situation whereby he showed more courage in taking the bold step of criminalizing it with heavy sanctions for defaulters.
As the ancient Chinese Cliché goes, the journey of a million miles begins with one step and so the step he took is highly commendable despite the virulent opposition from the murderous left led by the deadly Planned Parenthood - in my opinion ought to have been long proscribed as they are nothing short of a terrorist group terrorizing babies in the womb who should be loved and nurtured.