Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador has come to an agreement with Planned Parenthood over out-of-state abortions, ending a lawsuit the abortion chain filed against the state three years ago.
Key Takeaways:
- Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Idaho after a letter from Labrador went public.
- In the letter, Labrador said Idaho’s law, which protects preborn children from abortion, “prohibits an Idaho medical provider from either referring a woman across state lines to access abortion services or prescribing abortion pills for the woman to pick up across state lines.”
- Labrador has come to an agreement with Planned Parenthood by agreeing not to prosecute, in exchange for the abortion corporation’s dropping of the lawsuit.
The Details:
Labrador and two county prosecutors signed a consent decree vowing not to prosecute doctors who refer patients out of Idaho for abortions. In exchange, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill closed the lawsuit from Planned Parenthood.
Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, said the agreement “brings much-needed clarity, compassion, and relief to both patients and providers.”
“It ensures that health care providers in Idaho can continue doing what they are trained and ethically bound to do — offer accurate information and help patients access the care they need, even if that care is out of state. In a state where abortion is banned, those referrals can be lifesaving.”
Labrador said this agreement “avoids unnecessary litigation and protects Idaho taxpayers from further costs.”
The Backstory:
In 2023, as a result of the lawsuit from Planned Parenthood, a federal judge blocked part of the Idaho law allowing prosecution of doctors who refer patients out of state for abortions. Included in Idaho law is a stipulation that doctors who “assist” in abortion will lose their licenses to practice.
Labrador also sent a private letter saying the law “prohibits an Idaho medical provider from either referring a woman across state lines to access abortion services or prescribing abortion pills for the woman to pick up across state lines.”
That letter was leaked, causing him to withdraw it. In response, he said, “It was not a guidance document, nor was it ever published by the Office of the Attorney General. Accordingly, I hereby withdraw it.” Despite the withdrawal, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU sued, saying they believed he would enforce the law that way in the future, despite his statement. The court agreed.
“The Court finds that the Medical Providers have established that there is a genuine threat of prosecution. This threat has resulted in the chilling of the Medical Providers’ speech — a well-established concrete injury,” Winmill wrote in the ruling.
The Bottom Line:
For his part, Labrador insisted that the pro-life law in Idaho will remain intact.
“Idaho’s strong pro-life laws remain fully in effect, and we remain proud to defend the rights of mothers and their unborn children,” Labrador said. “This settlement simply affirms what our office already made clear in court: We do not have the authority to prosecute referrals for out-of-state services.”
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