Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed a bill into law that bans adults from helping minors cross state lines to receive an abortion without the parents’ consent.Under the law, any adults who help a minor obtain an abortion pill or a surgical procedure within Idaho or across state lines commits “trafficking,” punishable by up to five years in prison.
Abortion remains legal in states neighboring Idaho such as Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Montana.
The Idaho law, which was signed Wednesday, is the first to restrict interstate travel to obtain an abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June. The decision returned regulation of the procedure to the states.
Reproductive rights activists swiftly condemned the law as a danger to the safety of young people.
“We have a responsibility to keep young people safe, and this bill does nothing but put them at risk,” said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju in a statement.
“This is a clear and dangerous escalation of anti-choice extremists’ push to block all abortion care in every state, and our families will continue to suffer the consequences. Our children deserve better,” Timmaraju said