Advocacy group sues Idaho over ‘abortion travel ban’

A gender and LGBTQ rights advocacy group has filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s “abortion travel ban” on the basis that the law is overly vague and unconstitutional, becoming the first organization to file such a legal challenge.

The progressive group Legal Voice filed its lawsuit against Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador (R), arguing the abortion travel ban harms “Idahoans’ reproductive health and their options for reproductive health care.”

Signed into law in April, the ban prohibits what is referred to as “abortion trafficking,” which it defines as an adult procuring an abortion for a minor who is not their child, whether it’s by providing abortifacient drugs or transporting them to obtain an abortion.

Those who are found guilty of violating this law face between two and five years in prison. The Idaho state government enacted some of the strictest restrictions on abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, banning abortions at all stages of pregnancy apart from some exceptions for rape, incest and cases where the mother’s life is threatened.

In its suit, Legal Voice blasted the law as “draconian” and infringing on multiple rights.

“The statute is unconstitutional. It is poorly written. It is vague and unclear in the conduct it
prohibits,” the suit stated.

“It infringes on First Amendment rights to speak about abortion and to associate and to engage in expressive conduct, including providing monies and transportation (and other support) for pregnant minors traveling within and outside of Idaho to access out-of-state legal abortion care,” it continued.

Republican lawmakers in Idaho have characterized the bill as a parental rights bill and not a ban on interstate travel. Regardless of how the bill is worded, the plaintiffs argue that the net outcome is still an interstate travel ban in effect and was the intent of the those who supported the legislation.

“This right to travel is not only a right to travel interstate but a recognized right to travel intrastate, sometime referred to as the right to movement,” the suit stated, further citing previous rulings that had found the Constitution “protects the right of a citizen of one State to enter and to leave another State.”

The organization further argued that a ban on interstate travel to seek care is particularly harmful due to Idaho’s physician shortage. Data from the state government suggests that Idaho’s number of physicians per capita is significantly lower than the national average.

In Idaho, minors must obtain the permission of their parents before obtaining an abortion, and Legal Voice argued “not all minors have a strong, trusting, or stable relationship with a parent or guardian.”

The plaintiffs are asking that the abortion travel ban be declared a violation of the First Amendment, an infringement on the right to interstate travel and that Labrador be blocked from enforcing the law.

Labrador’s office did not immediately respond when asked for comment.