Lawsuits Challenge Idaho’s Abortion Law

Planned Parenthood, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union, separately announced on Wednesday that they are suing the Idaho attorney general’s office due to an interpretation of the state law punishing medical professionals for referring patients to out-of-state abortion services.

Last week, Idaho’s attorney general, Raúl Labrador, stated in his legal opinion that state law forbids the “provision” and “promotion” of abortion pills as well as referring women “across state lines” to abortion services.

In response to Idaho’s abortion measures, Planned Parent tweeted, “Preventing health care providers from referring patients out of state to get an abortion? Extreme, unprecedented, and unconstitutional. Attorney General Labrador, we’ll see you in court.”

The ACLU issued a similar statement, tweeting, “BREAKING: We’re suing the Idaho Attorney General for threatening health care providers who exercise their First Amendment right to give patients information about out-of-state abortion care.”

The lawsuits follow after Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed into law on Wednesday a law criminalizing any adult who aids a minor in undergoing abortion or who provides a minor with out-of-state abortion pills without parental consent.