Idaho Lawmakers Introduce Dangerous 6 Week Abortion Ban, Modeled after Texas’s S.B. 8
For Immediate Release: Feb. 11, 2022
The bill bans nearly all abortion care in the state, and encourages Idahoans to spy on each other for a cash reward
BOISE, ID — Idaho legislators reached new lows this morning with the introduction of an abortion ban modeled after Texas’s extreme and controversial S.B. 8 ban. Idaho’s proposed ban prohibits abortion after six weeks and undermines Idahoans’ constitutional right to abortion by allowing family members to sue abortion providers.
By instituting a six-week ban, anti-abortion lawmakers in Idaho are trying to effectively eliminate abortion access in the state, severely restricting care before many people have the opportunity to seek care. Lawmakers are blatantly capitalizing on the Supreme Court’s failure to block the S.B. 8 in Texas, and are making an end-run around the constitutional right to abortion that has been guaranteed under Roe for nearly 50 years.
“All Idahoans deserve the freedom to decide what is best for ourselves. But instead of fighting for our freedoms, these legislators are deputizing everyday Idahoans to become intrusive vigilantes who spy on their family members for cash rewards. We deserve better than this dangerous assault on our individual rights,” said Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “This bill is an attack on our privacy and endangers everyone’s safety — all in the name of ending access to an essential health care service. This is sick, and it is wrong. It is time to stop using people’s health and safety as a political bargaining chip and get back to serving the people of Idaho.”
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Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Serving AK, HI, ID, IN, KY, WA (PPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization educating residents and policymakers about reproductive health issues in Alaska, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky and Washington. PPAA lobbies and educates to advance Planned Parenthood's mission, and engages in limited electoral activities.