Remember, in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, when a number of conservatives were like, “Oh, relax, they’re not banning abortion, they’re just sending it back to the states”—the suggestion being that the situation wasn’t as nearly dire as some people were making it out to be and that abortion would largely remain legal? Well, abortion has been sent back to the states, and here’s what the states are doing with it, per the Associated Press:
It’s hard to say which aspect of the new law is the most f–ked up, but we’re going to have to go with the bit about the state reserving the right to prosecute and imprison someone for helping a child obtain an abortion after that child was raped by their parent. (How big of Idaho to not allow the parent in that scenario to sue.)
In a statement, the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, which serves Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, said: “Many minors do not have supportive or safe parents or guardians in their lives who they can ask to help them get an abortion. It’s remarkable that lawmakers believe that young Idahoans don’t have the capacity to make reproductive health care choices for themselves or deserve bodily autonomy, but believe that those same young people should have the capacity to raise and care for children on their own, without any major social or economic support.”
Last year, Idaho banned virtually all abortions in the state, prompting the Justice Department to sue.
The new law signed Wednesday will go into effect in 30 days.
