Legal Voice, a gender and LGBTQ rights advocacy group, has filed a landmark lawsuit challenging Idaho’s “abortion travel ban.” The group argues that the law is overly vague and unconstitutional, making it the first organization to bring such a legal challenge. The progressive group is suing Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, asserting that the ban on abortion travel negatively impacts “Idahoans’ reproductive health and their options for reproductive health care.”
The ban, signed into law in April, aims to prevent what it terms “abortion trafficking,” which involves adults procuring abortions for minors who are not their children. This includes providing abortifacient drugs or transporting minors to obtain an abortion. Violators of this law may face two to five years in prison.
Idaho implemented some of the strictest abortion restrictions following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Apart from exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and threat to the mother’s life, the ban prohibits abortions at all stages of pregnancy.
In the lawsuit, Legal Voice criticizes the law as “draconian” and a violation of multiple rights. It argues that the statute is poorly written, vague, and unclear regarding the conduct it prohibits. The organization maintains that it infringes on First Amendment rights, including freedom of speech, association, and expressive conduct such as providing financial support and transportation to pregnant minors seeking legal abortion care within and outside of Idaho.
Contrary to the bill’s characterization as a parental rights bill by Republican lawmakers in Idaho, Legal Voice maintains that the outcome is still an interstate travel ban. The organization cites previous court rulings recognizing the right to travel and argues that the Constitution protects the right of citizens to enter and leave another state.
Furthermore, Legal Voice contends that an interstate travel ban for seeking care is particularly harmful in Idaho due to the state’s physician shortage. Data from the Idaho government indicates that the number of physicians per capita in Idaho is significantly lower than the national average.
Minors in Idaho are required to obtain parental permission for an abortion, but Legal Voice points out that not all minors have a strong, trusting, or stable relationship with a parent or guardian. The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the abortion travel ban violates the First Amendment and infringes on the right to interstate travel, and are requesting that Labrador be blocked from enforcing the law.
At the time of writing, Labrador’s office has not responded to The Hill’s request for comment.
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