OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Attorney General and Governor Jay Inslee are among political leaders from over 20 states challenging a new Idaho law criminalizing traveling for an abortion.
In a statement Tuesday morning, Ferguson revealed he and a coalition of attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit in an Idaho U.S. District Court, urging the law to be blocked immediately.
“The Constitution protects the individual right to travel between states, and Idaho’s radical Legislature cannot abolish that right,” Ferguson said. “Washington is standing up for the Constitution and reproductive freedom to support this challenge to Idaho’s unconstitutional abortion travel ban.”
The new “abortion trafficking” law, signed by Idaho Governor Brad Little earlier this year, is the first of its kind in the U.S. It makes it illegal to either obtain abortion pills for a minor or to help them leave the state for an abortion without their parents’ knowledge and consent.
Anyone convicted will face two to five years in prison and could also be sued by the minor’s parent or guardian. Parents who raped their child will not be able to sue, though the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion will remain in effect.
Inslee added his own statement to the release, calling the law "repugnant."
“Washington vigorously supports those challenging Idaho’s patently cruel and unconstitutional law restricting travel for abortions,” Inslee said. “This law places Idahoan youth in grave danger, and unlawfully infringes on every person’s First Amendment rights to free speech and to travel freely between states’ borders. As I said in my April 4 letter to Gov. Little when he signed this repugnant law, we will continue to harbor and comfort all Idahoans who seek health care services that are denied to them in Idaho.”
Inslee and Little have traded barbs before. After Inslee sent the letter to Little mentioned above, Idaho's governor responded by questioning why anyone would want to leave his state for Washington.
"It is hard to imagine why someone would leave Idaho for Washington when your state is home to sky-high taxes, crime, and public encampments," he wrote. "Meanwhile, Idaho has turned back more tax relief per capita than any other state, we’re one of the safest states in nation, and we don’t back down to activists – we kick illegal public encampments off public property."
Ferguson was joined by attorneys general from the following states and territories in the lawsuit: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Rhode Island.