BOISE, Idaho — A proposal to reverse two anti-abortion laws in Idaho was headed to the House floor for debate after being approved at the committee level by lawmakers hesitant to loosen the state’s tough anti-abortion stance.
Earlier this year, a federal judge agreed to give the Idaho Legislature time to repeal two laws passed in 2015 banning women from receiving abortion-inducing medication through telemedicine.
The judge said that he will rule those laws as unconstitutional and unenforceable if lawmakers don’t take them off the books this session. Allowing that ruling to go into place would create possible case precedence for organizations to use in future court cases against telemedicine abortion bans.
Lawmakers in the Republican-dominated Statehouse aren’t excited about the situation the court has put them in. Several GOP members opposed advancing the repeal measure during a legislative hearing on March 6, while others teared up before reluctantly agreeing in a 12-3 vote to send the proposal to the House floor.
Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, who voted against HB 250 when it passed the House State Affairs Committee, called the proposal the “real war on women” in a statement.
“Make no mistake, I believe that I speak for the pro-life community in saying that telemedicine abortion is a terrible tragedy for Idaho,” said David Ripley, director of the anti-abortion organization Idaho Chooses Life. “It is my sad duty, Mr. Chairman, to ask this committee to support house bill 250 in order to preserve our options going forward.”
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands sued the state last year, arguing the bans puts unnecessary burdens on women seeking safe abortions.
