Health care providers in Idaho on Wednesday sued the state's attorney general after he wrote in a legal opinion that the state's abortion ban prohibits medical providers from referring patients out-of-state for abortion services.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican, said in a two-page letter last week that the state's near-total abortion ban "prohibits an Idaho medical provider from either referring a woman across state lines to access abortion services or prescribing abortion pills for the woman to pick up across state lines." The letter was sent to state GOP Rep.
"Labrador's interpretation is unprecedented and amounts to a clear threat that Idaho will seek to punish individuals for speech and conduct related to abortions that take place in states where abortion is legal," the lawsuit states. The lawyers described Labrador's legal opinion as "truly novel" and "shocking," writing in the suit that his interpretation "risks further isolating Idaho patients by cutting them off from critical health care in other states that is legal in those states."
In his letter last week, Labrador noted that a violation of the state's ban, including by making out-of-state referrals for abortion services, "requires the suspension of a health care professional's license."
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