Republican Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 242 into law last week on Wednesday. This prohibits minors from obtaining abortions without the consent of their parents.
Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” ban is a first-of-its-kind law. It’s a crime to help a child travel for an abortion if the parents have not consented. It also prohibits minors from receiving abortion pills without consent or parental knowledge.
The law says that an adult who knowingly conceals an abortion from the parents, guardians, or minors, procures or obtains an abortion-inducing medication for the minor. This includes recruiting, harboring, or transporting the minor within the state.
According to the law, those found guilty of trafficking in abortions face between two- and five years of imprisonment.
The bill was sponsored by Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt. It also allows parents and guardians to sue medical professionals for “knowingly or recklessly trying to perform an abortion on minors without parental consent”.
It also allows the attorney general, regardless of whether the county prosecutor decides to not prosecute, to bring charges against anyone who is accused of trafficking in abortions.
Little clarified that the new legislation doesn’t prohibit adults from traveling interstate for abortions.
The law will take effect next month. The law will be challenged in court by Planned Parenthood, and other pro-abortion groups.
Alexis McGill Johnson is the president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she accused the bill of “holding people captive when they try to access essential healthcare services.”
“Young women seeking an abortion should be supported and given compassion, not the government overreach that this law punishes. It is clear that HB242 will have a chilling impact on anyone who helps minors get abortion care. This could put young people in dangerous and isolated situations. “We know that these extreme attacks will continue, and Planned Parenthood won’t stop fighting for everyone’s right to control their lives, bodies, and futures,” McGill Johnson stated.
Mistie DelliCarpini – Tolman, Idaho’s state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, criticized Idaho lawmakers for implementing “the most restrictive anti-abortion laws” in the country.
“Now they use an incredibly serious word like trafficking to describe young people who travel with trusted adults in order to obtain a legal process in another state. It’s despicable,” DelliCarpini-Tolman said.
She stated that the organization would do everything in its power to stop it.
