Idaho has become the first state to pass a law restricting travel for abortions

Idaho has passed a new law that restricts travel for abortions, becoming the first state in the United States to do so. According to a report by Associated Press on April 5, Governor Brad Little signed a bill that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor obtain an abortion without parental consent.

This new law is aimed at preventing abortion trafficking and makes it illegal for anyone to obtain abortion pills for a minor or help them leave the state for an abortion without the parents’ knowledge and consent. The law carries a prison sentence of two to five years and could also result in a lawsuit from the minor’s parent or guardian if someone is convicted of violating the law. However, the law states that parents who raped their child will not be able to sue, and the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion will remain in effect.

The attorney general will also have the power to prosecute anyone who violates the law, even if the county prosecutor declines to prosecute.

The new law has raised concerns about Idaho’s legal ability to restrict its residents from traveling to neighboring states to access abortion care. In a statement, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said that this law goes beyond banning abortion and shows the state’s zeal to control what people do and where they go. Alexis McGill Johnson, the federation’s president, added that young people seeking abortion deserve compassion and support, not extreme government overreach.

Idaho already has multiple abortion laws in place, and two Idaho doctors and a regional Planned Parenthood affiliate sued the state over its interpretation of another strict abortion ban. They claimed that it unconstitutionally limits interstate travel for abortions. The ban makes it illegal for physicians to intentionally terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman if they know the termination will reasonably cause the death of the unborn child.

This ban went into effect shortly after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Idaho has already effectively banned abortion in all stages of pregnancy and is one of a handful of states that penalize those who help people of any age obtain abortions.