Idaho

Idaho health care providers can refer patients for abortions out of state, federal judge rules

Published

1 year ago

August 2, 2023

Idaho health care providers can refer patients for abortions out of state, federal judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that it would violate Idaho medical providers’ free speech rights to sanction them for referring patients to out-of-state abortion services, rejecting the state attorney general’s interpretation of Idaho’s abortion ban.

Idaho’s law makes it illegal to perform or attempt to perform an abortion, a crime punishable by two to five years in prison. It also makes it unlawful for health care professionals to assist in the provision or attempted provision of one, with the penalty being the suspension or loss of their medical license.

Republican Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador wrote a letter to a conservative lawmaker in March in which he opined that referring a patient to legal abortion services in other states would constitute assisting in an abortion or attempted abortion — and thus would require the suspension of the health professional’s license.

Planned Parenthood and several medical providers sued the next month, arguing such a restriction would violate their First Amendment right to free speech. Health care providers are not restricted from referring patients out of state for prenatal care or other treatment, they noted.

Jennifer and Tim Kohl poses for a photo in their front yard with the American flag and a thin blue line flag in Star, Idaho, on April 14, 2023. The couple recently moved to Idaho from the Los Angeles area. Americans are segregating by their politics at a rapid clip, helping fuel the greatest divide between the states in modern history. (AP Photo/Kyle Green)

Medical professionals “will be forced to choose between facing criminal penalties themselves and offering referrals and information about legal out-of-state medicinal services to their patients,” U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill wrote in his order Monday. “Simply put, their speech will be chilled.”

The case is one of two targeting Idaho’s strict abortion laws. A separate lawsuit challenges a new Idaho measure making it illegal to help minors get an abortion without parental consent. Attorneys general from 20 states filed a brief Tuesday urging the court to block it.

“The Constitution protects the individual right to travel between states, and Idaho’s radical Legislature cannot abolish that right,” Democratic Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement.

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last year overturned the landmark abortion rights ruling in Roe v. Wade, some Idaho residents traveled to neighboring states for the procedure just because they had the closest clinic.

But in the following year, with abortion criminalized in Idaho, its neighboring states saw a significant increase in abortions, including almost 1,500 in Washington, more than 1,300 in Oregon and nearly 2,600 in Nevada, according to data from the Society of Family Planning.

“Providers shouldn’t face the threat of punishment for helping their patients obtain the abortion care they need in states where abortion is legal,” said Meagan Burrows, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project.

Winmill’s order blocked the Office of Attorney General from enforcing Idaho’s criminal abortion law as Labrador interpreted it. For technical and procedural reasons, he did not block the state boards of medicine and nursing from suspending the licenses of providers who refer patients for abortions out of state or who prescribe abortion drugs for patients to pick up in another state.

However, Colleen Smith, a participating attorney with ACLU of Idaho, said the plaintiffs were confident that the same rationale the judge applied to the attorney general’s office should also apply to the boards.

The boards have not indicated they intend to start suspending the licenses of providers in such cases. Bob McLaughlin, a public information officer with the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, said the Idaho Board of Medicine does not comment on pending litigation.

“We think that they’ve probably gotten the message, based on what the court decided, that that’s not an appropriate interpretation,” Smith said.

Stanton Healthcare, an anti-abortion pregnancy center in Boise, said in a statement it was “deeply troubled” by Winmill’s order and that it would “only serve to promote ‘abortion trafficking.’”

“This decision flies in the face of the Idaho legislature which built a wall of protection around women and their preborn children through life-affirming legislation which promotes well-being and hope,” the statement said.

Labrador’s office argued it does not have the authority to criminally prosecute providers who refer patients out of state. Further, the state’s attorneys noted, Labrador formally withdrew the letter after the lawsuit was filed, saying its analysis was “void.”

Beth Cahill, communications director for the attorney general’s office, suggested Winmill, who Democratic President Bill Clinton appointed in 1995, was biased.

“In his 28-year career you’d be hard-pressed to find a time when Judge Winmill has ruled against Planned Parenthood, so his decision is not surprising,” Cahill said. “Judge Winmill wants to restrain a power we don’t possess. We strongly disagree with his order.”

Winmill noted in his order that while Labrador had issued a subsequent letter withdrawing his legal opinion, the attorney general has not actually disavowed its reasoning — which could carry heavy weight among the state’s county prosecutors.

“The Attorney General has strained at every juncture possible to distance himself from his previous statement without committing to a new interpretation or providing any assurances to this Court or the Medical Providers,” Winmill wrote. “Attorney General Labrador’s targeted silence is deafening.”

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Johnson reported from Seattle. Komenda reported from Tacoma, Washington.

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Idaho

Idaho teen is arrested in connection with a dead infant found in a baby box at a hospital

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Idaho teen is arrested in connection with a dead infant found in a baby box at a hospital

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho teenager has been arrested in connection with the body of an infant found last month at a hospital in a box meant for people to anonymously give up a newborn, police said Friday.

The Blackfoot Police Department said in a social media post that an 18-year-old from Twin Falls, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of Boise, had been arrested there and booked into the Bingham County Jail.

She was arrested on a felony arrest warrant for failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner, police said.

Police in Blackfoot responded to a report Oct. 13 of a deceased baby left at Grove Creek Medical Center. Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey has said hospital staff responded immediately to an alarm indicating a baby was in the box and realized that the infant had died before being placed inside.

Idaho law only allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed.

“The Safe Haven Baby Box is intended to safely and anonymously allow custodial parents to surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, provided the child is unharmed,” police said in the social media post. “Unfortunately, the placement of a harmed or deceased infant is not protected under this system or Idaho law.”

The baby had been wrapped in a blanket, and the placenta was still attached, Kelsey said previously.

Police said they weren’t releasing further information in part because more charges could be filed.

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Idaho

University of Idaho housing renovation earns state approval

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

University of Idaho housing renovation earns state approval

The Idaho State Board of Education Thursday signed off on a nearly $163 million on-campus housing proposal from University of Idaho as its freshmen enrollment continues to grow.

Total enrollment since 2019 grew by 14%, with freshmen enrollment up 42% during that same period.

That’s a problem since the school’s housing is over capacity, and many of the buildings are in disrepair, like the South Hill Apartments, which will be torn down and newly replaced.

“We have four of those buildings that have already been demolished over the last 10 years and another three buildings that have been mothballed and are currently offline because they’re quite literally uninhabitable,” said Brian Foisy, UI VP of Finance and Administration.

The university currently has capacity for 2,075 students to live on-campus, with another 200 overflow beds at a former motel nearby. Foisy said students are not satisfied with those converted motel rooms and UI doesn’t plan to renew its lease.

The upcoming project will also renovate dorms in the Wallace Residential Complex and Theophilus Tower, which are nearly 60 years old and make up the majority of the school’s capacity.

“The Moscow community simply does not have sufficient resources to meet the housing needs of these students, and available housing on the university campus is inadequate and well beyond useful life,” Foisy said.

UI will begin working with its contractors to begin demolition and complete initial utility work over the next several months.

State board of education members will need to approve a full finance plan, which UI will fully cover, in the first half of next year.

The first phase of new construction and renovations are expected to open Fall 2026, with the remaining work planned to be complete by Fall 2027.

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Idaho

The Most Critical Part of UCLA’s Win Over Idaho State

Published

23 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

The Most Critical Part of UCLA’s Win Over Idaho State

The UCLA Bruins didn’t make it look all that pretty on Wednesday night, defeating Idaho State by a score of 84-70.

Yes, the final result is nice, but UCLA opened up a 27-point second-half lead at one point and allowed a far inferior opponent to eke its way back into the game.

Nevertheless, the Bruins improved to 4-1 with the victory, and we should probably focus on one key positive for the squad in the win: their three-point shooting.

Perimeter shooting had been a critical issue for UCLA over its first four games. Even in its 40-point triumph over Lehigh last Friday, the Bruins went just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.

But against Idaho State, UCLA connected on nine of its 14 long-range attempts in what was, by far, its best shooting effort of the season.

Tyler Bilodeau went 4-of-4 from downtown, and Eric Dailey Jr. went 2-for-3.

Let’s not get it twisted: the Bruins are still a work in progress from deep. They are making just 31.7 percent of their three-pointers this season, which ranks 205th in the country.

It’s not far off from last year when UCLA finished 213th in the nation in three-point shooting in what ended up being a 16-17 campaign.

This is definitely an area in which the Bruins need to show dramatic improvement in order for anyone to take them seriously as legitimate contenders in the Big Ten, but Wednesday evening represented a major step forward for the team.

UCLA brought in four significant transfers for the 2024-25 campaign with the hope that the incoming talents would bolster their NCAA Tournament chances.

The Bruins entered the year ranked 22nd in the country, but a loss to New Mexico instantly dropped them out of the top 25.

The problem is that UCLA has not placed an incredible emphasis on outside shooting, which was clear in its defeat at the hands of New Mexico when it shot 5-of-23 from distance.

But again, baby steps. Beating Idaho State is expected, but it’s the little things the Bruins did in the process that made the victory more impressive.

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