A federal judge has permanently banned Idaho from prosecuting physicians who refer patients to legal abortions out-of-state.
On Thursday, Judge B. Lynn Winmill signed a consent decree barring Attorney General Raúl Labrador from going after healthcare workers who share information with patients about out-of-state abortions. The ban applies to Ada and Valley County prosecutors as well.
The decision was prompted by a lawsuit filed in 2023 by Planned Parenthood and two physicians who said they feared prosecution for out-of-state referrals. Under Idaho’s abortion ban, providers who perform or assist with an abortion can face felony charges, lose their medical license and receive up to five years in prison.
The plaintiffs cited a letter written by Labrador on official stationary where he explained that referring a patient across state lines to an abortion provider could be considered assisting in performing an abortion.
Shortly after the letter was made public, Labrador retracted that interpretation.
In addition to barring his office from prosecuting providers who share information with patients, the Attorney General’s office must also pay $400,000 in legal fees.
“In a state with a total abortion ban, referrals are a critical tool for health care providers to help their patients,” the ACLU wrote in an email in response to Thursday’s ruling. “This resolution ensures that Idaho health care providers can continue serving their patients by providing counseling and information on all of their options, including abortion out of state.”
“This settlement simply affirms what our office already made clear in court: we do not have the authority to prosecute referrals for out-of-state services,” the Attorney General wrote in a statement. “Resolving this matter through settlement avoids unnecessary litigation and protects Idaho taxpayers from further costs.”
