On Friday, the Idaho Supreme Court blocked a law from going into effect that would outlaw abortions after fetal heartbeat detection, which occurs at roughly six weeks gestation. The law is mirrored after legislation in Texas that was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.
According to The New York Times, the court issued an order temporarily blocking enforcement of the law until it can further review it. The law was scheduled to take effect on April 22.
BREAKING: The Idaho Law that would ban abortions after six weeks has been blocked temporarily by the Idaho Supreme Court and will not go into effect on April 22. @IdahoNews6 pic.twitter.com/IbdUZY3aBR
— Jake Garcia (@JakeGarciaTV) April 8, 2022
As Townhall covered, the law allows the father of the unborn child, the grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles to pursue legal action against a medical provider who performs an abortion. The family members of the unborn child can sue for a minimum of $20,000 in damages within four years after the abortion.
Texas’ law, S.B. 8, on the other hand, allows anyone to sue an individual who provides an illegal abortion or aids a woman seeking an illegal abortion. Those who successfully bring lawsuits under S.B. 8 can receive $10,000.
When GOP Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed the bill into law, he mentioned that he had concerns regarding this portion of the legislation, noting that other states could utilize the same approach to encroach on gun ownership rights. Rebecca reported how California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) touted that he would use this approach against firearms.
Late last year, President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and abortion clinics in Texas challenged the state’s “heartbeat” abortion ban at the Supreme Court. The Court fast-tracked its decision and did not allow the DOJ’s lawsuit to continue and returned the abortion clinics’ lawsuit back to a federal appeals court.