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Texas-style abortion ban bill goes to governor's desk

The Idaho State Flag hanging inside the Statehouse Rotunda.
James Dawson
/
Boise State Public Radio

Gov. Brad Little will soon decide whether a Texas-style abortion bill becomes law in Idaho.

The proposal would ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, which is when a heartbeat can be detected using a vaginal ultrasound.

Idaho and several other states already have similar so-called heartbeat laws.

But Rep. Steven Harris (R-Meridian) said Texas took it one step further when it passed its own version last year.

“They did a very clever thing,” said Harris. “They allowed for a civil cause of action.”

That means an ordinary citizen, whether they live in Texas or not, could sue anyone who “aids or abets” a mother getting an abortion. Someone aiding or abetting an abortion could include an Uber driver who drives her to a clinic or that clinic’s receptionist.

Idaho’s law would only allow family members of an aborted fetus to sue the doctor who performed the procedure with a minimum award of $20,000.

House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea (D-Boise) criticized Harris’s characterization of Texas’s law.

“This bill is not clever, it is absurd. Its impacts are cruel and it is blatantly unconstitutional,” Necochea said.

A mother’s family members, she said, have no business in getting involved with her choice to get an abortion.

Having already passed the Senate, the bill now goes to Gov. Brad Little’s (R) desk for consideration.

Should Little sign it, or let it become law without his signature, it wouldn’t immediately take effect. A federal appeals court would first need to find a similar law in another state to be constitutional.

Idaho could also potentially outlaw most abortions completely.

It currently has another trigger law on the books to do so if the U.S. Supreme Court gives states more leeway in how they regulate the procedure.

Justices on the country’s top court are currently debating the constitutionality of a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Their decision is expected later this summer.

Follow James Dawson on Twitter @RadioDawson for more local news.

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I cover politics and a bit of everything else for Boise State Public Radio. Outside of public meetings, you can find me fly fishing, making cool things out of leather or watching the Seattle Mariners' latest rebuilding season. If you have a tip, please get in touch!

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