Idaho governor signs bill penalizing adults who help minors get an abortion

Washington, Apr 5 (EFE).- Republican Idaho governor Brad Little on Wednesday signed into law a bill that penalizes adults who help minors to get an abortion or abortion pills.

The legislation makes it illegal to assist a person under the age of 18 to obtain an abortion, transport them to a state where the procedure is legal, or provide them with abortion pills without the permission of their parents or legal guardians, according to the bill approved by the state’s lawmakers last week.

People who violate this new law may be accused of “abortion trafficking” and face a prison sentence of between two to five years.

Idaho is the first state in the country to greenlight such a restriction, which bans minors from traveling out of state for abortions without parental consent.

Planned Parenthood, an advocate of high-quality, affordable reproductive and health care in the country, described the law as “despicable” and said it would do everything in its power to stop it.

“Idaho lawmakers have slipped under the radar with some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country,” the organization wrote on Twitter.

In June last year, the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned “Roe vs. Wade,” ending federal abortion protections and permitting states to set their rules.

It caused some states to begin implementing the so-called “zombie laws” that had been in force before the Supreme Court guaranteed the right to abortion in 1973.

Other states activated laws designed to enter into force just when the right to abortion was repealed.

Since the ruling, 18 of the 50 US states have banned abortion or severely restricted it.

In 13 states, access to abortion is practically impossible although there are exceptions, according to data from Planned Parenthood. EFE

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