A bill introduced in the Idaho state Legislature this week would make the transportation of a minor across state lines and within Idaho, where abortion is banned, for an abortion a violation of human trafficking laws.
Idaho passed an abortion ban that prohibited the practice with few exceptions in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and declared that the Constitution does not provide a right to abortion. Republican state Rep. Barbara Ehardt of Idaho Falls filed the six-page bill Tuesday that would amend state law to consider the transportation of a minor either across state lines without parental consent or within the state for the purpose of obtaining an abortion a form of human trafficking and a criminal act. (RELATED: Pro-Abortion Group Funds Study That Concludes Pro-Life Centers Offer Faster, Cheaper Service)
Ehardt explained in her introduction that she wanted to give Idaho citizens stronger protection against human trafficking, particularly regarding the links between human trafficking and abortion, according to Idaho Capitol Sun.
“We will make sure that we have top-notch legal authority to deal with this,” Ehardt said. “I don’t think any of us want to see our minors, not only trafficked, but in this situation.”
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 03: Pro-choice activists protest during a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in response to the leaked Supreme Court draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade May 3, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
If passed, the bill would amend state law making transporting a minor outside of Idaho or within the state for an abortion punishable by two to five years in prison. Human trafficking, regarding abortion, is defined as “[r]ecruiting, harboring, or transporting a pregnant minor with the intent to deprive the pregnant minor’s parent of knowledge of, and to procure, a criminal abortion.”
Ehardt’s bill also gives the state’s attorney general, Raúl Labrador, “sole discretion” when considering whether or not to prosecute someone who is accused of violating the amended law.
“The Idaho attorney general has the authority, at the attorney general’s sole discretion, to prosecute a person for a criminal violation of this section if the prosecuting attorney authorized to prosecute criminal violations of this section refuses to prosecute violations of any of the provisions of this section by any person without regard to the facts or circumstances,” the bill reads.
Ehardt did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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