What Idaho ’s Texas-Style Abortion Ban Means for the Rest of the Country

Idaho became the first state on Monday to pass a bill modeled after Texas’ strict law that uses private citizens to enforce a ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and to avoid court challenges to the ban’s constitutionality. The Idaho House, which has a Republican majority, voted 51-14 in favor of the bill, and the state Senate approved it earlier this month. It now heads to Gov. Brad Little, a Republican. While Little has not commented on this bill specifically, he signed a similar abortion restriction last year. Idaho’s move exemplifies the battle over abortion access that’s playing out in states across the country, just months before the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that could unwind or overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to abortion. Under current law, states cannot ban abortion before a fetus is viable, which typically occurs between 23 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. But the Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled last spring that it may be willing to change that standard when it agreed to hear arguments over a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] As anti-abortion state lawmakers await the Court’s decision, they are rushing to pass new legislation that would restrict abortion. Even as Roe technically remains the law of the land, the shifting legal and political landscape is making it more difficult fo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news