By Dave Andrusko
When Gov. Brad Little signed the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, Senate Bill 1309, it made 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.
On cue, today, one week later, “Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky filed a petition in the Idaho Supreme Court to block the law,” the Idaho Stateman’s Ryan Suppe reported.
“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.
Needless to say, Planned Parenthood disagreed. “It sets a really dangerous precedent in Idaho, so we’re going to take the state to court,’ Rebecca Gibron, interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, told the Idaho Statesman by phone.”
“We view this law as blatantly unconstitutional,” Gibron added. “It is government overreach at its worst. We believe that pregnant people have the right to make their own health care decisions, without the interference from politicians.”
The petition was filed “on behalf of the regional Planned Parenthood affiliate and Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, an Idaho abortion provider.”
When the bill was in the state House, 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.”