Global Courant 2023-04-12 02:50:45
Democrats are omitting a crucial detail in their criticism of a new law signed into law by Idaho Governor Brad Little that places further restrictions on abortions.
The law signed into law last week by the Republican governor and due to take effect next month makes it illegal to help girls 17 and under get an abortion by providing them with drugs or helping them have a pregnancy across state lines terminate without parental consent.
But the most important detail, that the only the law applies for non-emancipated minors, is conspicuously absent from those online outraged by the law.
“I thought it was crazy that Idaho made it illegal to travel to another state to have an abortion, only to look it up and find out that they made it illegal for an adult to bring a minor across the border. for an abortion without parental consent.” Conservative commentator Matt Shapiro noted on Twitter on Tuesday.
Gov. Brad Little of Idaho speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
IDAHO’S ‘ABORTION TRAFFICKING’ LAW MEAN ADULTS CAN BE INDIATED FOR SUPPLYING PILLS TO MINORS
Indeed, many Democrats and Progressives omit the “minor” and “parental consent” details from their Twitter diatribes.
“Not content with banning abortion only in red states, the GOP now plans to restrict the ability to travel,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D.R.I., tweeted Monday. “Passing the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act is becoming more important every day.”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island and chair of the Senate Budget Committee, speaks at a hearing in Washington, DC, U.S., on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“First the Republicans took away the right to abortion,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, tweeted last week. “Now they’re trying to end Americans’ right to travel for healthcare. This fight was never just about abortion. It was always about ending women’s freedom to control their own bodies and future.”
“Republicans claim to be the party of liberty, but now they want to restrict freedom to travel across state lines,” Rep. tweeted. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “It’s time to take protective measures to ensure that pregnant people can make their own health care decisions AND travel as they choose.”
“(House Democrats) posted #PeopleOverPolitics and passed an infrastructure bill to rebuild our roads, bridges and highways,” tweeted Rep. Ted Lee, D-California. “What are extreme MAGA Republicans focused on? Restricting women’s freedom to travel to receive reproductive health care.”
“Republicans are stepping up their attacks on women’s reproductive freedoms,” tweeted Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. “This new law passed by Idaho Republicans will only serve to endanger the lives of women in the state.”
“This is America,” Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., tweeted. “We should be free to drive anywhere we want legal service. GOP politicians have lost their minds.”
House Bill 232, the first of its kind, creates a new crime called “abortion trafficking” and prohibits adults from obtaining abortion drugs for a minor or “recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor” across state lines to an get an abortion without a parent’s or guardian’s consent, according to Associated Press.
Protesters gather in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington DC after the Roe v. Wade to undo. (Joshua Comins/Fox News Digital)
To ensure compliance with the constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho law specifically focuses only on the portion of a trip that occurs within the state when abortion services are requested from an out-of-state provider.
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“House Bill 242 does not criminalize, prohibit, or otherwise interfere with interstate travel, nor restrict an adult woman from having an abortion in another state,” Little said in his signing statement.
“Rather, the ‘abortion trafficking’ provision in the bill is only intended to prevent unemancipated underage girls from being taken across state lines for an abortion without the knowledge and consent of her parent or guardian,” the governor added.
Jon Brown of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
