Idaho Gov. Little Signs Abortion Ban Based on Texas Law

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little enacted a bill on Wednesday that enforces a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy that is based on a similar law passed in Texas last year.

The bill, scheduled to go into effect 30 days after the governor’s signing, bans the procedure after the detection of fetal cardiac activity in an embryo. It carries a penalty of $20,000 plus legal fees and the lawsuits can be filed up to four years after an abortion is performed.

While the Texas law allows any individual to sue those who perform or facilitate an abortion, the Idaho law focuses the enforcement aspect down to family members of the “preborn child.” While the bill prevents rapists from suing their victims, it allows the father, grandparents, siblings, aunts or uncles to each sue an abortion provider.

“We are disappointed that Little signed yet another bill into law that raises significant constitutional concerns,” Lauren Bramwell, policy strategist with the ACLU of Idaho, said in a written statement. “Our right to abortion shouldn’t depend on where we live. People should be able to control their own bodies, lives and futures.”

Bramwell continued, “Lawmakers openly touted this bill as a ‘clever’ way to undermine abortion access by evading judicial review. That logic has horrific implications on all of the rights that we hold dear and could open the floodgates to similar laws that deputize private citizens to ‘enforce’ cruel laws that take people’s rights away.”

Idaho passed an abortion ban law last year that required a favorable federal court ruling to take effect, which ultimately failed. The law passed on Wednesday does not require a court decision to take effect and amends parts of the previous law.

Little also expressed reservations in his transmittal letter about the bill’s constitutionality and its potential for “unintended consequences” that affect sexual assault survivors while urging Idaho lawmakers to fix parts of the bill.

“I remain committed to protecting the lives of pre-born babies and strongly encourage the legislature to promptly rectify any unintended consequences with this legislation to ensure the state sufficiently protects the interests of victims of sexual assault,” Little wrote in the letter.

While the bill only pertains to abortions in Idaho and doesn’t contain provisions that ban out-of-state abortions, Andrew Evertt, a spokesperson for the ACLU, said traveling on short notice for time-sensitive care is an expensive prospect that disproportionately impacts people of color, young people, rural communities and those who struggle financially.

Last year, state legislatures enacted 108 abortion restrictions across 19 states, according to data published by the Guttmacher Institute.

After the Texas law prohibiting abortions after six weeks took effect in the state, The Well News reported clinics outside the state experienced an increase in women traveling across state lines to get abortions weeks after its enactment.

Texas’s restrictive abortion law led to a 60% decrease in abortions in the state and as much as an 800% increase in demand for abortions in clinics in neighboring states, according to data published by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Similarly, clinics in Oregon are already bracing for a similar influx of patients seeking the procedure. State lawmakers in Oregon approved $15 million in funds at the end of this year’s legislative session to establish the Oregon Reproductive Equity Fund, which requires private health insurance plans to cover abortions with no out-of-pocket costs in addition to helping cover lodging and travel costs.

“The people who will be most affected by this, unfortunately as usual, will be the people who are most vulnerable in society,” Michele Goodwin, chancellor’s law professor at the University of California, Irvine, told The Well News. “This includes people who come from rural communities, people who happen to be economically disenfranchised. We’ll see a concentration of that amongst people who are of color—Black and Latino, and in some communities, people who are Asian immigrants to the United States.”

Additionally, Goodwin pointed out that the United States already has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation in the world. The U.S.’s maternal mortality rate was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 and adding restrictions where people would otherwise want access to contraception or to terminate a pregnancy only serves to exacerbate the problem, she said.

Oregon is not alone in its efforts to bolster reproductive health care services. Fundraising in states like New Mexico, Colorado and California has arisen in order to amplify the ability of clinics in those states to be able to provide care to out-of-state patients, Goodwin told The Well News.

“I think it’s really important to note that, with these pieces of legislation, we also see more than just the dismantling of reproductive rights,” Goodwin said. “We see direct attacks on the U.S. Constitution as a whole.”

Reece can be reached at [email protected].