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Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed a law making it a crime to transport minor girls across state lines to receive abortions.
The bill passed in the state House on March 7 by a majority vote of 57-12, with one abstention. Little signed the bill into law on April 5, taking effect in 30 days.
In a letter to Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, Little said House Bill 242 does not infringe on an adult woman seeking an abortion in another state.
“Rather, the ‘abortion trafficking’ provision in the bill seeks only to prevent unemancipated minor girls from being taken across state lines for an abortion without the knowledge and consent of her parent or guardian,” Little said.
The law defines abortion trafficking as an adult who, “with the intent to conceal an abortion from the parents or guardian of a pregnant, unemancipated minor, either procures an abortion … or obtains by recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor” to another state for the procedure.
Abortion trafficking in Idaho carries a penalty of two to five years in prison.
The law further stipulates that all medical professionals who perform an abortion will face a minimum civil penalty of $20,000 in damages.
