I had not previously thought of Idaho as one of the crazy Red states, and have been saddened to have to reappraise that view. Idaho is now one of the leading states controlled by Republicans who are obsessed with controlling a woman's right to make her own health decisions. The latest iteration of this is that the Republican-controlled legislature has made it illegal to help a less than 18-year-old girl to travel out of state to get the abortion she cannot get in Idaho. You're a 14 year old who has been raped, or has been the victim of incest and you are pregnant. Republicans want you to carry that fetus to term, which completely changes your life. As a result of this legislation, and the other things being done in Idaho, OB/GYN doctors are leaving the state in droves, and hospitals are changing the obstetrical care they will offer. One hospital in Sandy Point, Idaho, the only hospital in that city, has decided to cease offering Obstetrical care. The net-net of this in the view of most physicians, my research shows, is that it is now dangerous and inadvisable for a woman to get pregnant in Idaho. If something goes wrong with your pregnancy, you may find that you cannot get the medical care you need, and you may die.
Amid a flood of residents fleeing states that ban abortions to seek legal procedures or medication elsewhere, Idaho has become the first state to try to stem that exodus — at least for minors.
Abortion is illegal at all stages of pregnancy in Idaho and a dozen other states. The law signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little Wednesday creates a new crime of “abortion trafficking,” threatening prosecution for any adult who helps transport a pregnant Idaho girl to get an abortion without her parents’ consent.
Abortion rights advocates and legal experts say they expect other states to follow Idaho’s approach — and eventually to extend interstate travel prohibitions to adults.
The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly include a right to interstate travel, but it is implied. Idaho’s new law attempts to skirt that issue by criminalizing only the in-state portion of a trip to […]