The Quickie: Idaho Enacts Law Banning So-Called "Abortion Trafficking" 

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: ID enacts law banning so-called “abortion trafficking,” ID AG sued over out-of-state abortion referral ban, TN loses millions in federal family planning funding, abortion wins elections, and PP’s patient-first approach.  

IDAHO ENACTS LAW BANNING SO-CALLED “ABORTION TRAFFICKING”: Yesterday, Idaho Governor Little signed HB 242 into law, creating the nation’s first crime of so-called “abortion trafficking,” which outlaws an adult assisting a young person in accessing abortion or obtaining abortion-inducing drugs with the intent of concealing the abortion from their parent. 

While most young people do include their parents in the decision to get an abortion, some are in dangerous, abusive situations in which disclosing pregnancy status could put them in further harm. The new law drew national attention, including pressing concerns about the state’s ability — legally and practically — to restrict Idahoans from traveling into neighboring states to access legal abortion care. The law is set to take effect in 30 days from its signage. 

“For too long now Idaho lawmakers have slipped under the radar with some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country,” Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho State Director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said. “Now, they are using an incredibly serious term like trafficking to talk about young people traveling with trusted adults to access a legal procedure in another state. It’s despicable. This law should serve as a warning to everyone living in states with lawmakers that are hostile to this critical health care procedure: this could be coming to your state, too. We’ve seen how fast harmful legislation can catch on and spread across the country.”

Read more at AP, New York Times, and ABC. Read PPFA’s release here.

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS SUE IDAHO AG OVER OUT-OF-STATE ABORTION REFERRAL BAN: Yesterday, a group of health care providers and advocates sued to stop Idaho Attorney General Labrador from applying a legal opinion that claims health care providers cannot refer patients out of state for abortion care under Idaho law. Under the opinion, any assistance from a health care provider — including offering information about other states’ abortion providers and abortion funds — could be a violation of Idaho’s abortion ban, threatening health care licenses or even criminal prosecution.

Since the legal opinion was issued on March 27, providers in Idaho have been forced to withhold critical information from their patients who need abortion services about seeking care outside of the state. In a state where health care providers are fleeing for fear of criminalization and labor and delivery wards are closing, the results will almost certainly be deadly. 

Read more at CNN, Reuters, and The Hill. Read PPFA’s release here.

TENNESSEE LOSES MILLIONS IN FEDERAL FAMILY PLANNING FUNDING FUNDING DUE TO TITLE X VIOLATIONS: Title X’s comprehensive options counseling requirement was carefully crafted to ensure people, regardless of their incomes, receive the information they need to make decisions that are best for their own bodies and lives. But Tennessee lawmakers refused to comply with the requirement, costing the state millions in funding for services like birth control, pregnancy testing, and basic fertility services. Despite clearly contradicting Title X’s requirement, Tennessee’s program only required counseling on services that are legal in Tennessee — and because abortion is banned in the state, health care providers were able to omit that option without violating the terms of their funding.

Although Tennessee state officials were aware that their policy violated Title X, they refused to alter it, allowing the crucial federal funding to lapse. Gov. Lee’s office claims the state will amend its budget to make up for lost federal funding, but the move  demonstrates the lengths to which anti-abortion politicians will go to restrict access to reproductive health care. Lawmakers like Gov. Lee  would rather sacrifice millions in funding for crucial services for low-income Tennesseans than mandating that clinics discuss abortion at all.  

Read more at the Tennessean. 

ABORTION RIGHTS WIN ELECTIONS… DUH: On Tuesday night, Judge Janet Protasiewicz won a seat on Wisconsin’s state supreme court, reshaping the balance of the court and opening the doors for consequential rulings affirming abortion rights, voting rights, and more. A historic number of Wisconsinites turned out because they understood the stakes for abortion rights, showing once again that abortion rights win elections. 

Check it out. 

PPFA’S PATIENT-FIRST APPROACH: Danika Severino Wynn, Vice President of Abortion Access for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, once again joined the White Picket Fence podcast on Wednesday as part of PPFA’s ongoing partnership with the show. In this week’s episode, Danika expressed the importance of centering patients first and foremost when it comes to reproductive care, and explained how this is crucial to maintaining democracy:

“It is incredibly important to us that a person who comes into Planned Parenthood should be heard. They should be a participant in their care. When we think about our advocacy, we really try to think about communities and what we’re hearing they need. When we talk about abortion, we’re really talking about the choice of when a person wants to become a parent, or if. We’re talking about bodily autonomy, we're talking about the right to control our bodies, the right to control our destinies. These choices are crucial to having a functioning democracy.”

Listen to the full episode here, and listen to previous episodes here.