Idaho becomes first state to ban abortion trafficking

Last week, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law making it illegal for an adult to help an underage girl obtain an abortion without consent from a parent or guardian. Anyone convicted of violating the law could face up to five years in prison. Referred to as an “abortion trafficking” law, the legislation is the first of its kind in the United States.

The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court found Roe v. Wade unconstitutional. Abortion providers are now setting up mobile facilities in abortion-friendly states like Illinois just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Other states face similar challenges as cities like Kansas City are paying travel expenses for employees to seek out-of-state abortions.

The law not only prohibits the procurement of abortion pills for an underage girl but also makes it illegal to transport a pregnant girl across state lines for an abortion without her parents’ knowledge and consent. Violators will face two to five years in prison and could also be sued by one of the girl’s parents or guardian. However, parents who have raped their child will not be able to sue, although the criminal penalties for those who helped the girl obtain an abortion still apply.

A legal opinion from Idaho’s new attorney general, Raul Labrador, states that the ban also prohibits healthcare providers from prescribing abortion medications to be picked up in other states or referring patients to out-of-state providers for abortion services.

Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, announced it will challenge the law, arguing that it will isolate young people and put them in danger, particularly those in abusive situations. However, Katie Daniel, state policy director of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, celebrated the ban.

“With too many cases of the abortion industry willfully covering up abuse and siding with traffickers, abortion trafficking is a nationwide issue,” she said. “Through this landmark law, Gov. Little and pro-life legislative leaders have established one of the most enforceable parental consent policies in the country — setting a standard for deterring and punishing such horrific exploitation of young girls.”

In July, President Joe Biden condemned what he alleged were laws that force sexual assault victims to cross state lines to receive abortions as a “horror.” Biden mentioned 10-year-old girls being forced to have children after being raped. The White House, however, could not point to any actual instances where that has happened in the last 40 years and was roundly criticized for creating a straw-man argument.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice