BOISE, Idaho — Planned Parenthood filed a third lawsuit against the State of Idaho on Monday in order to stop another abortion ban from going into effect, a six-week ban legislators passed in 2021.
Idaho lawmakers passed multiple abortion bans through the years waiting for the fall of Roe, as well as waiting for laws from other states to trigger Idaho's abortion bans to take place in August.
"The Six Week Ban violates Idaho law for the same reasons that the Total Abortion Ban does. First, it violates the Idaho Constitution’s guarantee of the fundamental right to privacy in making intimate familial decisions," the lawsuit said.
"Second, it violates the Idaho Constitution’s equal protection guarantee, as well as the Idaho Human Rights Act’s prohibition against sex discrimination, because it impermissibly treats women and men differently based on discriminatory gender stereotypes. Third, it violates the Idaho Constitution’s due process clause because it is unconstitutionally vague."
The six-week ban would criminalize abortion after a "fetal heartbeat has been detected."
Additionally, Planned Parenthood has said that many women typically do not find out they are pregnant before six weeks, rendering them unable to seek help for a pregnancy they did not know they had.
Planned Parenthood has made this same argument in the prior two lawsuits, where they are asking the Idaho Supreme Court to stop its execution and wait until the lawsuits are settled to rule on the matter.
The 30-day countdown to ban abortions in Idaho begins after the court rules on the issue, which is expected this month.
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