On Friday, it became clear that Idaho refuses to stop the court ruling that criminalizes almost all abortions. The law was made possible when the 50-year-old ruling Roe v. Wade was overturned at the end of June this year.
The ruling means that potential relatives of an embryo or fetus can now sue abortion doctors/clinics for procedures performed after six weeks of pregnancy (a stage when many do not even know they are pregnant). A stricter ban criminalizing all abortions comes into effect later in August.
Another law that takes effect immediately allows relatives to sue abortion providers for up to $20,000 within four years of an abortion. Rapists do not have the right to sue, but their family members could.
“Tonight, the people of Idaho witnessed their bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom taken away,” Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said in a press release.
Multiple moods
A week ago, the country’s Department of Justice sued the state because it believed that the abortion law criminalizes doctors who provide women with medically necessary care. The federal judge has not yet ruled in the case.
A doctor and a regional representative for Planned Parenthood also sued the state earlier this year over three strict abortion laws.