Abortion in Idaho

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Abortion in Idaho is illegal from fertilization. [1] Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, abortion in Idaho was criminalized by the trigger law which states that a person who performs an abortion may face two to five years of imprisonment. [2] The ban allows exceptions for maternal health, rape and incest within the first trimester. [2] The law took effect on August 25, 2022. [1]

Contents

Some state leaders, including former Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin "are calling for even stricter laws, including eliminating the exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother and pushing to classify abortion as felony murder." [2]

History

Legislative history

By 1950, the state legislature passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion regardless of whether she went through with it were guilty of a criminal offense. [3]

The state passed a law in the 2000s banning abortions after 22 weeks because they alleged that fetus can feel pain. [4] The state was one of 23 states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement. [5] In the informed consent materials given to women in Idaho, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas required by statute, the materials used graphic and inflammatory language. [6] Idaho was the only state of 23 with detailed informed consent requirements by statute that did not require the woman be told how far advanced her pregnancy was. [6] Georgia, Michigan, Arkansas and Idaho all required in 2007 that women must be provided by an abortion clinic with the option to view an image of their fetus if an ultrasound is used prior to the abortion taking place. [6] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the United States Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling. [7] On March 24, 2020, Governor Brad Little signed into law S1385, which is a trigger law stating that if and when states are again allowed to ban abortion on their own authority then abortion would be illegal in Idaho except for cases of the life of the mother, rape or incest. [8] [9] [10]

Judicial history

The United States Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester. [3] However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , No. 19-1392 , 597 U.S. ___(2022) later in 2022. [11] [12]

On January 5, 2023, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the Idaho Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion, rejecting a challenge to the states' abortion laws by Planned Parenthood. [13]

On September 12, 2023, four women filed a lawsuit against Idaho over the state's abortion ban, stating that they were denied abortions despite having dangerous pregnancy complications. [14] One of the women represented in the lawsuit, whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal anomaly, gave birth prematurely in a hotel bathroom after traveling to Portland, Oregon for an abortion after being denied an abortion in Idaho. [15]

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Idaho by year Number of abortion clinics in Idaho by year.png
Number of abortion clinics in Idaho by year

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by six, going from fifteen in 1982 to nine in 1992. [16] In 2014, there were three abortion clinics in the state. [17] In 2014, 95% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 68% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic. [18] In 2017, there were three Planned Parenthood clinics, all of which offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 365,502 women aged 15–49. [19]

Emerg-A-Care in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, also served women from Eastern Idaho in 2017. [20]

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there was only no recorded illegal abortion death in the state.[ clarification needed ] [21] In 1990, 106,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. [16] The lowest number of legal induced abortions by state in 2000 occurred in Idaho with 801, while South Dakota was second with 878, and North Dakota was third with 1,341. [22] Idaho had the fewest induced abortions in 2001 with 738, while South Dakota was second with 895, and North Dakota was third with 1,216. Idaho had the lowest induced abortion to live birth ration at 36 per 1,000 live births while New York City had the highest at 767. Based on the ratio of number of women aged 15–44 years, Idaho had the lowest rate of induced abortions at 3 per 1,000 women while the District of Columbia had the highest at 37 per 1,000. [23] In 2003, the state of South Dakota had the lowest number of legal induced abortions with 819. Idaho was second with 911, while North Dakota was third with 1,354. Idaho had the lowest ratio of induced abortions to live births at 42 per 1,000 in 2003 while New York City had the highest at 758 to 1,000. [24] In 2010, the state had zero publicly funded abortions. [25] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 170 abortions, zero abortions for black women aged 15–19, 40 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 20 abortions for women of all other races. [26] In 2014, 49% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases vs. 45% believing it should be legal. [27] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. [28]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996 [29]
Census division and stateNumberRate % change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
US Total1,528,9301,363,6901,365,73025.922.922.9–12
Mountain69,60063,39067,0202117.918.6–12
Arizona20,60018,12019,31024.119.119.8–18
Colorado19,88015,69018,31023.61820.9–12
Idaho1,7101,5001,6007.25.86.1–15
Montana3,3003,0102,90018.216.215.6–14
Nevada13,30015,60015,45044.246.744.61
New Mexico6,4105,4505,47017.714.414.4–19
Utah3,9403,7403,7009.38.17.8–16
Wyoming4602802804.32.72.7–37
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence % obtained by
out-of-state residents
YearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^Ratio^^
Idaho1,7107.21992 [29]
Idaho1,5005.81995 [29]
Idaho1,6006.11996 [29]
Idaho1,7675.6771,3534.3595.22014 [30]
Idaho1,6955.3741,2724564.62015 [31]
Idaho1,7255.4771,2894.0573.42016 [32]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births


Abortion rights views and activities

Protests

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019. [33] [34]

Following the leak of the overturn of Roe v. Wade on May 2, 2022, an abortion rights protest was held in Boise, Idaho. [35] On November 10, 2022, two abortion rights protesters who were present at the Boise, Idaho protests filed tort claims against the city, alleging that they were falsely arrested and imprisoned in violation of constitutional rights to peacefully assemble. [36]

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, an abortion rights protest was held in Boise, Idaho outside city hall. [37]

Anti-abortion views and activities

The Boise March for Life is an anti-abortion march that took place every January on the weekend anniversary of Roe v. Wade , with a rally following. It is unclear whether it will still take place now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , No. 19-1392 , 597 U.S. ___(2022) in 2022. [11] [12]

Violence

Shelley Shannon attempted to set fires at abortion clinics in Oregon, California, Idaho and Nevada during the late 1980s and early 1990s and eventually pleaded guilty to these cases of arson. In 1993, she was found guilty of attempted murder of Dr. George Tiller in 1993 at his Wichita, Kansas clinic. [38]

Footnotes

    Related Research Articles

    Abortion in Oklahoma is illegal unless the abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.

    Abortion in Louisiana is mostly illegal as of August 1, 2022.

    Abortion in Alaska is legal at all stages of pregnancy, as long as a licensed physician performs the procedure. As of 2016, Alaska does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion. 63% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Alaska was one of only four states to make abortion legal between 1967 and 1970, a few years before the US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling. Alaska had consent requirements for women seeking abortions by 2007 that required abortion providers to warn patients of a link between abortion and breast cancer despite it being scientifically unsupported.

    Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.

    Abortion in Delaware is legal up to the point of fetal viability. 55% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal and 38% stated it should be illegal in all or most cases. There was a therapeutic exceptions in the state's legislative ban on abortions by 1900. Informed consent laws were on the books by 2007. In 2017, Senator Bryan Townsend, D-Newark introduced legislation to try to make clear that abortion would remain legal in the state in case 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned. The legislation was subsequently updated. Attempts have been made to introduce mandatory ultrasound laws, but they failed to get out of committee. State legislators tried to move ahead the week at which a woman could get a legal abortion in 2019.

    Abortion in Hawaii is legal. 66% of adults in Hawaii said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Hawaii began allowing elective abortion care de jure in 1970, the first state to do so. State law enacted at that time stated said, "the State shall not deny or interfere with a female's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the female."

    Abortion in Maine is legal throughout all stages of pregnancy. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, 64% of adults said that abortion should be legal with 33% stating that it should be illegal in all or most cases.

    Abortion in Montana is legal. The number of abortion clinics in Montana has fluctuated over the years, with twenty in 1982, twelve in 1992, eight providers of which seven were clinics in 2011, and five clinics in 2014. There were four clinics from 2015 to February 2018 when All Families Healthcare clinic in Whitefish reopened. There were 1,690 legal abortions in 2014, and 1,611 in 2015.

    Abortion in Nevada is legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy, under the Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 442, section 250; and after 24 weeks if the pregnancy could be fatal for the pregnant woman. 62% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal while 34% said it should by illegal in all or most cases. Legislation by 2007 required informed consent. Attempts were successfully made to pass abortion legislation in May 2019, being pushed through a largely Democratic controlled state legislature. The number of abortion clinics in Nevada has declined over the years, with 25 in 1982, seventeen in 1992 and thirteen in 2014. There were 8,132 legal abortions in 2014, and 7,116 in 2015. Due to the high level of support for abortion rights, continued access to abortion is supported by all parties, including the Republicans.

    Abortion in North Dakota is illegal. The state's sole abortion clinic relocated to Minnesota.

    Abortion in Oregon is legal at all stages of pregnancy.

    Abortion in Rhode Island is legal. On June 19, 2019, the legal right to abortion was codified into Rhode Island law by passage of the Reproductive Privacy Act.

    Abortion in South Dakota is illegal. Anyone who induces an abortion is guilty of a Class 6 felony. An exception is included to "preserve the life of the pregnant female," given appropriate and reasonable medical judgment.

    Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization, except to "prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman".

    Abortion in Utah is legally performed under a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state's trigger law, which bans abortion. According to HB136, which is effective state law from June 28, 2022, abortions are banned following 18 weeks of gestation. Abortion was banned following the Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. Utah State Legislation enacted SB 174 in May 2020, which, upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made inducing an abortion a second-degree felony. The law includes exceptions for pregnancies "caused by rape or incest," pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk, or "if two doctors say the fetus has a lethal defect." Rape and incest exceptions will only be viable if the crimes were previously reported to law enforcement officials.

    Abortion in Vermont is legal in all stages of pregnancy. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll showed 70% of adults in the state believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases, the second highest percentage in the country. The state funds abortions deemed medically necessary for low-income women via Medicaid.

    Abortion in the U.S. state of Virginia is legal up to the end of the second trimester of a pregnancy. Before the year 1900, abortion remained largely illegal in Virginia, reflecting a widespread trend in many U.S. states during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Abortion was viewed as a criminal act and subject to state laws that prohibited it. However, by 1950, Virginia introduced a legal therapeutic exception, allowing for abortion under specific circumstances, primarily when a woman's physical or mental health was at risk. Notably, the University of Virginia Hospital established a review board in 1950 responsible for evaluating and approving abortion requests, particularly those grounded in psychiatric reasons. This thorough approval process resulted in a significant decrease in the number of abortions performed at the hospital.

    Abortion in West Virginia is illegal, with few exceptions.

    Abortion in New Mexico is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The number of abortion clinics in New Mexico has declined over the years, with 26 in 1982, 20 in 1992 and 11 in 2014. There were 4,500 legal abortions in 2014. There were 7 facilities providing abortion in New Mexico in 2017, and 6 of those were clinics. In 2017, 91% of New Mexico counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 48% of New Mexico women lived in those counties.

    Abortion in Wyoming is currently legal due to a temporary court injunction.

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