Jan. 6 (UPI) — The Idaho Supreme Court dismissed a series of lawsuits filed by Planned Parenthood against the state’s abortion bans, ruling that Idaho’s constitution does not guarantee protection for the medical procedure.
The state’s high court ruled 3-2 Thursday to dismiss the challenges to three abortion laws passed by the state legislature since 2020, stating each is constitutional as the state’s founding document “does not contain an explicit right to abortion.”
The lawsuits filed by Planned Parenthood and abortion provider Dr. Caitlin Gustafson challenged the constitutionality of three laws that criminalize abortion.
The first was passed in 2020 with eyes on the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that provided federal protection for abortion.
The near-total abortion ban was trigged in June when the high court ruling was overturned and went into effect in August making it a felony to perform or assist with an abortion in the state.
The second law passed in 2021, making it a felony to perform an abortion if fetal cardiac activity is present, but exempts abortions performed for medical emergencies and pregnancies the result of rape or incest.
The third law challenged was passed last year to amend the Fetal Heartbeat Act to allow potential fathers, grandparents, siblings and other relatives of the aborted fetus to sue for a minimum of $20,000 in damages.
The petitioners had argued that provisions of the state’s Constitution implicitly enshrined the right to abortion, but the court in its ruling disagreed, stating, “We cannot read a fundamental right to abortion into the text of the Idaho Constitution.”
The court said that for abortion to be a protected right it needs to be “deeply rooted” in the traditions and history of the state and that the framers had intended for it to be protected under the Inalienable Rights Clause.
But when abortion as a right under Idaho’s Constitution is examined through this lens, it is found to be lacking, the court said.
“There simply is no support for a conclusion that a right to abortion was ‘deeply rooted’ at the time the Inalienable Rights Clause was adopted,” the court ruled. “To the contrary, the relevant history and traditions of Idaho show abortion was viewed as an immoral act and treated as a crime.
“Thus, we cannot conclude the framers and adopters of the Inalienable Rights Clause intended to implicitly protect abortion as a fundamental right.”
The court continued that if the public is dissatisfied with these laws, they can respond by electing new representatives.
“If the people of Idaho are dissatisfied with the policy choices the legislature has made or wish to enshrine a fundamental right to abortion in the Idaho Constitution, they can make these choices for themselves through the ballot box,” the court said.
Idaho passed the controversial abortion bans as Republican-led states sought to restrict or outright outlaw the medical practice at their local legislatures, attracting a slew of legal challenges.
Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of many of these fights. Rebecca Gibron, chief executive of Planned Parenthood Northwest, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, said since Idaho’s ban went into effect in August, residents have been forced to leave state to find access to healthcare.
“This is a dark day for the state of Idaho, but our fight is far from over,” Gibron said in a statement Thursday. “Planned Parenthood will never back down. We will keep fighting with everything we’ve got to restore Idahoan’s right to control our bodies and our lives.”
The Idaho Democratic Party also rebuked the ruling, and accused their Republican counterparts of putting policy above the lives of those they serve.
“Patients, not judges or politicians, should make their own personal decisions when it comes to medical care,” Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea said in a statement. “Idaho’s extreme abortion ban, passed by the Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Gov. [Brad] Little, endangers the lives of pregnant idahoans and undermines the duty hospitals have to treat and stabilize sick patients.”
The Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian anti-abortion organization that drafted the so-called heartbeat law, said Thursday’s ruling settles the debate over whether its ban is constitutional once and for all.
“The pro-life movement has worked toward this day for decades with sweat, tears and sacrifice,” the center’s president, Blaine Conzatti, said in a statement. “It is a great day for precious pre-born babies in Idaho.”