In Idaho, which has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the nation, state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would create yet another restriction, levying criminal penalties against anyone who helps a minor obtain an abortion without her parents’ permission.
The bill, H.B. 242, was passed in the Idaho House earlier this month and is widely expected to pass in the Senate in the coming weeks. The legislation defines the new crime of “abortion trafficking,” writing that any adult who helps an unemancipated minor obtain an abortion procedure or abortion-inducing drugs “by recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor within this state” without the permission of the minor’s parents or guardians has committed the crime. Those found guilty of “abortion trafficking” can face two to five years in prison.
The bill is somewhat strangely worded, as it technically does not criminalize the act of crossing state lines to help a minor obtain an abortion without parental consent, which is what would practically be required in a state where abortion is almost entirely illegal. Instead, the law targets in-state travel, noting that defendants cannot use “that the abortion provider or the abortion-inducing drug provider is located in another state” as an affirmative defense in their case.
However, the legislation is still being framed as an attempted ban on interstate abortion-related travel, due to the practical impact of the law, which would make it a felony to transport a minor anywhere in an attempt to secure an abortion without the permission of her parents or guardians.
To the bill’s supporters, the law is primarily a parental rights measure. “Taking that child across the border, and if that happens without the permission of the parent, that’s where we’ll be able to hold accountable those that would subvert a parent’s right,” state Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R–Idaho Falls) told HuffPost. “A parent absolutely still has the right to take their child across the border and get an abortion. The parent still has the right to cede that power and authority to someone else, such as a grandparent or an aunt, to take that child, should they be pregnant, across the border and get an abortion.”
However, abortion rights advocates have noted how “parent’s rights” measures can put some vulnerable teenagers at risk. “The majority of young people facing an unexpected pregnancy do involve their parents in their decision-making,” Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, the Idaho state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, told KMTV. “But- for young children living in abusive households, disclosing sexual activity or pregnancy can trigger physical or emotional abuse, including direct physical or sexual violence, or being thrown out of the home.”
Thirty-six states already have laws requiring parental permission, notification, or a formal judicial bypass for minors to obtain abortions—though in many states these statutes have been rendered irrelevant by outright abortion bans. As more and more states continue to ban abortion, it’s possible that bills like H.B. 242 in Idaho will become the norm.
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