Idaho House lawmakers signed off on a bill Monday that would block some public money from going toward abortion providers.
The proposal would prevent cities, public school districts or other governmental entities from contracting with, or referring someone to an abortion provider. That includes Planned Parenthood, which also provides services like mammograms and other health screenings.
It would not apply to those insured through Medicaid.
Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa), who’s sponsoring the bill, said he wishes it could go further.
“If I could stop all of the abortions in the state right now with a bill I would do it, but I cannot do that with a bill,” Skaug said. “We cannot – none of us.”
The 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade found abortion to be constitutional, but that states could put some limitations surrounding it.
But some Idaho lawmakers, like Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard), said the proposal is immoral because it doesn’t ban abortions outright.
“When they say it’s saving babies, I call B.S. I’m not buying it,” Scott said.
No Democrat voted for it, saying it would deny healthcare access. They also noted it doesn’t provide an exception for incest.
A similar bill passed the House last year, but didn’t make it through the Senate.
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