Idaho Supreme Court Gives Planned Parenthood ‘Huge Win’ By Temporarily Blocking Texas Style Anti-Abortion Bill

As we reported near the end of March, Idaho GOP Governor Brad Little signed a Texas-style abortion law matching the Lone Star State in restricting abortion access.

The bill bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allows it to be enforced through lawsuits to avoid constitutional court challenges.

However, the Idaho Supreme Court granted Planned Parenthood a stay on the legislation yesterday after they had previously filed a lawsuit of their own against the state.

The law was set to go into effect on April 22, but now Planned Parenthood will need to file “a verified answer and separate response brief” no later than April 28, meaning it is unlikely to go into effect as scheduled.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (GNHAIK) celebrated the move in a tweet and declared, “BREAKING: The Idaho Supreme Court just blocked the near-total abortion ban #SB1309 until further order of the Court. This means the law will NOT go into effect on April 22. #IDleg #IDpol“

BREAKING: The Idaho Supreme Court just blocked the near-total abortion ban #SB1309 until further order of the Court. This means the law will NOT go into effect on April 22. #IDleg #IDpol

— Planned Parenthood GNHAIK (@PPGNHAIK) April 8, 2022

Acting CEO of Planned Parenthood GNHAIK Rebecca Gibron declared, “Today, we’re going to celebrate this huge win. And then we’re going to keep fighting to ensure that Idahoans can access essential health care. We look forward to our day in court.”

Today, we're going to celebrate this huge win. And then we're going to keep fighting to ensure that Idahoans can access essential health care. We look forward to our day in court. https://t.co/eaEbXHyAgu

— Rebecca Gibron (@PPGNHAIKRebecca) April 8, 2022

The order was signed by Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan, who previously served as a prosecuting attorney as a Republican and was appointed to his position by former GOP Gov. Butch Otter.

Bevan was re-elected to the bench in 2018 after he ran unopposed and was appointed Chief Justice in 2020.

As we previously reported, new Oregon legislation established a $15 million fund to cover costs for patients traveling to the state to receive abortions and the providers performing the procedure in anticipation of an influx.