Idaho Governor Brad Little has signed a bill that would stop the trafficking of teenage girls for secret abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
HB 242, the bill protecting a pregnant minor from the abuse of abortion trafficking, passed the Idaho House 57 to 12 and then the state Senate advanced it to Little.
HB 242 would make it a crime for an adult to transport a pregnant minor within the state of Idaho for the purpose of obtaining an abortion with the intent to conceal the abortion from the parents or guardian of the minor. The legislation would create a crime called “abortion trafficking”, defined in the bill as an instance where “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 an abortion-inducing drug” for the minor.
“With the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe vs. Wade last summer, the right and duty to establish legal policy on abortion was finally returned to our state democratic process,” Little wrote in a letter announcing he had signed the pro-life law.
“Section 1 of House Bill 242 does not criminalize, preclude or otherwise impair interstate travel, nor does it limit an adult woman from obtaining 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.”
The bill’s House sponsors, Rep. Barbara Ehardt and Rep. Kevin Andrus led the bill through the state House process.
“We are only looking to continue to protect our children and our parental rights,” Ehardt said about the measure. Since abortion is illegal in Idaho, “it would be taking that child across the border, and if that happens without the permission of the parent, that’s where we’ll be able to hold accountable those that would subvert a parent’s right.”
Republican State Sen. Scott Herndon supported the bill and said, “Neither a parent nor a guardian should be allowed protection from trafficking a minor for purposes of an abortion outside the state.”
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“Recruiting, [harbouring], or transporting the pregnant minor within this state commits the crime of abortion trafficking,” the bill adds. While the legislation doesn’t say anything about crossing state lines, driving a minor from anywhere within Idaho up to the border would be criminalized.
Anyone guilty of trafficking a teenager for an out of state abortion would face 2-5 years in prison.
This law is modeled on a portion of National Right to Life’s post-Dobbs model law to protect unborn children. If signed by the governor, this would be the second law of its kind (Missouri being the first), a law that protects minors and parental rights from the trafficking of a pregnant minor within the state of Idaho for the purpose of obtaining an abortion without the parents’ knowledge.
“HB 242 protects parents’ rights to be involved in their minor daughter’s decision,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “No minor daughter should be without her parents’ guidance and HB 242 would protect the right of parents.”
Idaho’s HB 242 would seek to prevent an abortion—whether surgical or procured using abortion drugs—from being performed on a minor without the knowledge of her parents or guardians.
Tobias continued, “Parents have the right to love their daughter and be there for her in her time of need. No one should take that away.”
The pro-life group Stanton Health Care, which helps pregnant women, fully supports the bill.
“With abortions virtually banned in Idaho, Planned Parenthood and other organizations are actively coaching and luring women across state lines for abortions. This is abortion trafficking,” Linda Thomas, Director of Community Outreach, told LifeNews.
“The law will protect a pregnant minor from the abuse of abortion trafficking by someone who is not their parent. The law will allow for prosecution of an adult who participates in abortion trafficking. The adult(s) may be punished by imprisonment for no less than two years and no more than five years,” she added. “The abortion industry is aggressive and relentless in pushing abortion on vulnerable women…and even minor children! We must be even more diligent and resolved in our efforts to provide protection and life-honoring care.”
Right to Life of Idaho supports the bill and told LifeNews, “We are aware of at least one verified Idaho case of a pregnant minor being taken out of state for an abortion without her parent’s knowledge or consent. In a related issue, records indicate that there were at least 9 reported cases of minors involved in human trafficking for sex in Idaho in 2021 alone. These are just the reported cases. If a minor being trafficked for sex becomes pregnant that is considered a liability for the person(s) trafficking her. Abortion trafficking then becomes the only option for them.”
But the leading abortion business has promised to take the law to court.
“Yet again, Idaho’s governor disregarded constituents and signed HB 242 into law, creating the nation’s first crime of so-called ‘abortion trafficking.’ This legislation is despicable, and we’re going to do everything in our power to stop it,” Idaho State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates-West said Wednesday on Twitter.
