Advocacy groups file lawsuit against Idaho's 'abortion trafficking' law
Several advocacy organizations and a civil rights attorney filed a lawsuit against Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office Tuesday alleging a law that criminalizes the act of transporting minors across state lines to obtain an abortion violates constitutionally protected rights and is too vague to be enforceable.
The federal lawsuit asks the Idaho District Court to grant a temporary injunction that would block the law from being enforced while the case proceeds.
The Idaho Legislature passed House Bill 242 at the end of March that created a new law dubbed “abortion trafficking” to punish an adult who helps a minor seek an abortion in another state or obtain medication that will induce an abortion. The law states if the adult intended to conceal the abortion from the parents or guardian of a pregnant minor, they are subject to a felony punishable by two to five years in prison. Even if a parent or guardian gave permission, the adult who aided the minor could still be prosecuted and use that defense in court, according to the bill text.
Idaho has a near-total ban on abortions at any stage of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape and incest victims who provide a police report documenting the crime and who are no more than 12 weeks pregnant. It is surrounded by several states where abortion is legal, including Washington, Oregon and Montana. Washington allows minors to obtain an abortion without parental permission, and Oregon requires parental consent for girls under the age of 14.
The law, which took effect May 1, also gives sole discretion to the Idaho attorney general to bring charges if a county prosecutor declines to do so. Legislators who supported the bill and Gov. Brad Little, who signed it into law, framed it as a parental rights bill that did not restrict interstate travel.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/advocacy-groups-file-lawsuit-against-idahos-abortion-trafficking-law
