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Idaho Gov. Little signs Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act

Mar 23, 2022

By Dave Andrusko

Gov. Brad Little signed the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act this afternoon making Idaho “the first state to enact a law modeled after a Texas statute banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and allowing it to be enforced through civil lawsuits to avoid constitutional court challenges,” according to Keith Ridler of the Associated Press.

“I stand in solidarity with all Idahoans who seek to protect the lives of preborn babies,” Little wrote in a letter to Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who is also president of the Senate. “It is also why I joined other pro-life governors last summer in signing an amicus brief requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

The measure passed the Senate 28-6 and the House 51-14. All Democrats opposed the bill.

Bill sponsor Republican Rep. Steven Harris said in a statement after the vote on Monday, March 14, “This bill makes sure that the people of Idaho can stand up for our values and do everything in our power to prevent the wanton destruction of innocent human life.” 

Like the Texas law, the Idaho bill is designed to protect unborn children whose hearts have begun to beat. Like the Texas law, the enforcement of Idaho’s bill is left to private citizens to sue and not by state officials through criminal penalties.

“They did a very clever thing,” said state Rep. Harris “They allowed for a civil cause of action, meaning that you could be sued in civil court if someone performs an illegal abortion post-heartbeat.”

Unlike the Texas law, only the abortionist can be sued under Idaho’s version of the law. In addition, unlike the Texas law, enforcement is limited to family members.

The Washington Post’s Caroline Kitchener reported

Ahead of the vote, state Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R), who co-sponsored the legislation, emphasized that the Texas ban has “withstood three challenges,” referring to the three occasions in which the U.S. Supreme Court passed up an opportunity to block the law since it took effect in September.

“Abortion is not a constitutional right,” Ehardt said. “The Supreme Court in 1973 did something that was never allowed in the first place.”

Categories: State Legislation
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