BOISE, IDAHO (AP) — A bill that would make it illegal for minors to obtain an abortion without parental consent reached its final stage in the Idaho Legislature on Thursday and is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little.
The measure would be the first of its kind in the U.S. It seeks to restrict travel by creating crime.” Abortion of traffic It would prohibit adults from administering abortion pills to a minor or “repairing, carrying or transporting a pregnant woman” without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian.
Anyone convicted of breaking the law would face two to five years in prison and could also be prosecuted by the minor’s parent or guardian. Parents who have abducted their child cannot sue, although criminal penalties for anyone who obtains an abortion for an orphan would remain in effect.
To violate the constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho’s law would make it illegal to travel only within the state to an in-state abortion provider.
When the lands are in his desk, the governor will have five days to allow the bill or sign or the intervention or law to be passed without his signature. A little against abortion and these Idaho adopted more restrictive abortion bans.
Opponents are promising a legal battle if the bill becomes law.
“Whether one of us or one of our partners joins is going to be a legitimate challenge,” said Mack Smith, a spokesman for the parenthood advocacy group. “We will definitely fight this with everything we’ve got.” In no way is this constitutional.
Idaho you are one of the 13 states as already I will effectively prevent abortion in every pregnancyand among the few states that already have laws punishing those who support abortion at any age.
In a Senate debate Thursday morning, Republican Sen. Melissa Wintrow said the law “further binds young girls who need help” and harms those who try to help them.
“I think we all know that Idaho has the closest abortion in the country,” Wintrow said. “It’s a crime, it’s totally illegal, and this bill adds insult to injury.”
But Sen. Todd Lakey, Republican and co-sponsor of the bill, said, “help protect our kids. Abortion, especially those that occur without parental consent in another state, helps and prevents it.”
The proposed legislation would give the attorney general the power to prosecute people for violating the law if the county prosecutor, who would normally handle criminal cases, refuses to press charges.
The abortion business accused people of not necessarily being able to avoid charges by showing that the minor’s parent approved the travel. They will be able to use that information as an “affirmative defense” to prove in court that the parents or guardians of the younger siblings signed the policy.
Rep. Chris Mathias, a Democrat, noted that Idaho’s kidnapping and incest rates “high five,” and many of those victims are minors who have been killed by a parent. The Idaho State Police’s “Crime in Idaho” annual report shows a nearly 12% increase in kidnapping or attempted kidnapping reports in 2021 compared to the previous year, as well as 28 reported rape cases – compared to three rape reports made in 2020 and 14 in 2019.
The bill requires both parents to notify the state of an abortion, Mathias said, even if one of the parents is “a criminal, an incest, a kidnapper, a potential father.”
Popular Sen. James Ruchti said it would likely be difficult to overturn the law. He compared it to a hypothetical scenario in which a neighboring state could stop its residents from traveling to Idaho to buy a gun.
“That’s probably why federal laws are dealing with this when it comes to border crossings,” Ruchti said.
The leaders of the state of Munich; Oregon and advanced to California West as a safe harbor On abortion policy, both advocates in Oregon and Washington are introducing bills to protect abortion providers and patients from criminal liability. Oregon bill it would allow doctors to provide abortions to anyone of any age, and prevent them in some cases from disclosing the information to parents.
National Right to Life, an anti-abortion organization, praised the bill as protecting the rights of parents by keeping parents involved in their child’s decisions.
“Parents have the right to love their daughter and be there for her at the right time,” National Right to Life President Carol Tobias wrote in a news release. “Nobody’s going to take that away.”
Thirty-six states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion, though they allow exceptions in certain circumstances, especially medical cases, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
AP writers Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas contributed.
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