Professors sue Idaho over law they feel restricts them from promoting abortion in class

Six college professors and two teachers’ unions are suing the state of Idaho over a pro-life law that prohibits them from promoting abortion to students in the classroom. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates their First Amendment rights.

Passed in 2021, the state law prevents state funds from being used to “procure, counsel in favor, refer to or perform an abortion.” The plaintiffs, who include five professors at the University of Idaho and one at Boise State University, argue that under the law, they can no longer mention abortion in the classroom. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which says the law places a “strait jacket upon the intellectual leaders” of state universities. They say the law’s wording is unclear and therefore allows authorities to “draw their own lines between permissible and prohibited speech.”

“It’s vital for Idaho’s public universities to have autonomy in fostering vibrant debate on their campuses, free from government interference,” Leo Morales, executive director for the ACLU of Idaho, said in a news release. “However, Idaho’s abortion censorship law directly undermines that autonomy, attempting to restrict educators’ free speech and stoke fear of retaliation for such speech in our state.”

Blaine Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center, which helped draft the law, dismissed the lawsuit as a “baseless legal challenge,” noting the law’s primary intent is to keep public universities from offering the abortion pill or referring students for abortions.

“Their meritless lawsuit won’t be successful,” Conzatti said.

“The First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution do not provide carte blanche legal protections for higher education faculty to advocate or engage in criminal behavior on the taxpayer’s dime,” he added. “The ‘No Public Funds For Abortion Act’ simply does not infringe on academic speech protected by the First Amendment, including classroom discussion on the topics related to abortion.”

The lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge David C. Nye to block enforcement of the law with a preliminary injunction.