The regional Planned Parenthood branch and an abortion provider filed a lawsuit to block Idaho's trigger law which would ban most abortions in the state.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky and abortion provider Dr. Caitlin Gustafson filed the lawsuit with the Idaho Supreme Court Monday following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
Idaho's law, which was passed and signed by Gov. Brad Little in 2020, would take effect summer of 2022. The ban outlaws abortions with exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. Planned Parenthood's lawsuit claims the ban "violates Idahoan's right to privacy and equal protection under the Idaho Constitution." The lawsuit contends this ban has terms too vague so medical providers will not be able to adequately determine when they can provide care for a patient.
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“Even though we knew this day was coming, it doesn’t change how devastating Friday’s ruling was for our providers, patients, and their loved ones,” Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, said in a statement. “In a single moment, Idahoans’ right to control their own bodies, lives, and personal medical decisions was taken away but we will not stand for it. We will never back down. We will never stop fighting.”
#BREAKING: @PPAAWest has filed a lawsuit in the #Idaho Supreme Court to block the trigger abortion ban. https://t.co/J2H3IUFsHK
— Nicole Camarda (@CamardaNicole) June 27, 2022
Planned Parenthood officials say if the ban takes effect, it will "disproportionately impact Idaho’s communities of color, people with low incomes, and those living in rural areas."
"It is abhorrent that we have now entered an era where the delivery of safe essential health care will be criminalized,” Caitlin Gustafson, MD, said in a statement. “Physicians take an oath to provide the care patients need to keep them safe, so we cannot stand by while the government intrudes on this deeply personal and complex medical decision."
Read the lawsuit here:
