Idaho Republicans want to remove 'likely unconstitutional' word in abortion law

Carolyn Komatsoulis, The Idaho Statesman on Mar 13, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lawmakers are trying to strengthen the state’s “abortion trafficking” law after a legal challenge.

The law bans people from helping minors get an abortion in a state where it’s legal without a parent’s consent.

Gov. Brad Little signed the law in 2023, the first legislative session after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Mississippi case in June 2022 that essentially overturned Roe v. Wade abortion protections nationwide.

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador wrote at the time that doctors could face prosecution if they referred patients out-of-state for abortions, prompting concerns. Labrador later backpedaled on what he wrote, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

Under the law, violators could get between two to five years in prison. Opponents sued to block enforcement the same year the law was enacted, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals let most of it go into effect.

The law specifically said people can’t help a minor get an abortion by “recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor within this state.” However, the court prevented the state from enforcing the “recruiting” portion, because it likely would be a violation of free speech rights.

“It sweeps in a large swath of expressive activities,” 9th Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote at the time, according to previous Statesman reporting. “Encouragement, counseling, and emotional support are plainly protected speech under Supreme Court precedent, including when offered in the difficult context of deciding whether to have an abortion.”

Now, Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, has proposed a solution: removing the word recruiting.

The word was “likely unconstitutional,” Lakey said on the Senate floor.

“Removing the word recruiting gives the state the best opportunity to defend the rest of this statute,” Lakey said. “The Idaho abortion trafficking statute was intended to prohibit conduct. Unfortunately, the 9th Circuit read the statute more broadly than intended.”

The move would help “preserve the rest of the statute,” he said.

The updated bill passed the Senate 28-6 Thursday with no debate, though two Democrats expressed opposition while voting.

“I voted against this original bill in the first place,” said Sen. Ron Taylor, D-Hailey. “So I will be voting no.”

Lakey has also brought a bill this year to strengthen a 2025 law that created state-level immigration crimes of illegal entry and illegal reentry, allowing local law enforcement to wade into an area reserved for the federal government. The ACLU filed a lawsuit, and a judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the state-level crimes.

Lakey’s new immigration bill passed the Senate and awaits a hearing in a House committee.

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