Press Release: Attorney General Labrador Successfully Defends Idaho’s Abortion Trafficking Laws at Ninth Circuit

The following press release was sent out by Attorney General Raul Labrador (R). Press releases do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.

[BOISE] – In a decision released today from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Matsumoto v. Labrador, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador successfully defended Idaho’s abortion trafficking laws against a lower court injunction. The 9th Circuit held that the statute’s prohibition on procuring an abortion by harboring and transporting minors with the intent to conceal the abortion from the minor’s parents are likely to be found constitutional and can be enforced while the litigation proceeds.

“This is a tremendous victory for Idaho and defending the rule of law as written by the people’s representatives,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Idaho’s laws were passed specifically to protect the life of the unborn and the life of the mother. Trafficking a minor child for an abortion without parental consent puts both in grave danger, and we will not stop protecting life in Idaho.”

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While the 9th Circuit panel ruled that plaintiffs have proper standing in the case, and that the specific language of “recruiting” minors for abortion is overly broad, the Court ruled the balance of the statute addressing “harboring and transporting” minors can be enforced.

The court opinion concluded, “Because Challengers are not likely to succeed on the merits of their remaining claims—the void-for-vagueness and association claims, as well as the other First Amendment claims with respect to the remainder of the statute—we reverse the district court with respect to those claims and remand to the district court to modify the preliminary injunction consistent with this opinion.”

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