SALEM, Ore — On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Idaho can once again enforce its abortion trafficking law that protects minors from being transported to states like Oregon for abortions.
In its December 2 decision, the appellate court reversed U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham’s 2023 decision temporarily barring the state from enforcing the law, which prohibits “recruiting, harboring or transporting” a pregnant, underage girl to help her get an abortion without the permission of her parents or legal guardians.
While the Ninth Circuit ruled that Idaho may enforce most of its law, it agreed with Grasham that the language banning “recruiting” a pregnant minor was overly broad.
“We are grateful for the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision, and for Idaho Right to Life’s diligence in supporting this pro-life law,” Oregon Right to Life Executive Director Lois Anderson said. “In our post-Dobbs era, Idaho’s law allows the state to protect young girls from being trafficked into Oregon for abortions, where Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are seeking to lure them.”
“The decision is a victory for the unborn, for keeping young girls safe, and for reducing the harm that Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities are allowed to do here in Oregon,” Anderson said.
The Monday decision comes after an abortion facility in Bend, Oregon, reportedly performed an abortion last year for a 15-year-old girl who had been taken to Oregon from Idaho by her 18-year-old boyfriend and his mother. The girl was reportedly “happy” with the pregnancy, though her boyfriend was not. The boyfriend has since been charged with rape, and he and his mother were charged with second-degree kidnapping.
Abortion facilities in eastern Oregon are seeing increased rates of women and girls coming to Oregon from other states for abortions. According to Oregon Health Authority, Oregon saw a 60% increase in women traveling to Oregon from other states for abortions in 2023 compared to the previous year.
But coercion is very often behind the decision to abort. According to a survey published in the medical journal Cureus, 43% of the women surveyed who reported having had an abortion said the procedure was “accepted but inconsistent with their values and preferences,” while 24% said the abortion was “unwanted or coerced.”
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