Abortion in Idaho is illegal from fertilization.[1][2] Following the overturning ofRoe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, abortion in Idaho was criminalized by the trigger law which states that a person who performs an abortion may face two to five years of imprisonment.[3] The ban allows exceptions for maternal health, rape and incest within the first trimester.[3] The law took effect on August 25, 2022.[2] Minors need parental consent to travel out of state for an abortion.[4]
Some state leaders, includingformer Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin "are calling for even stricter laws, including eliminating the exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother and pushing to classify abortion as felony murder."[3]
Between 2022 and 2024, Idaho lost over one third of OB-GYNs due to Idaho's total abortion ban, with many leaving to practice in other states without abortion bans.[5]
By 1950, the state legislature passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion regardless of whether she went through with it were guilty of a criminal offense.[6]
The state passed a law in the 2000s banning abortions after 22 weeks because they alleged that fetus can feel pain.[7] The state was one of 23 states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement.[8] In the informed consent materials given to women in Idaho, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas required by statute, the materials used graphic and inflammatory language.[9] Idaho was the only state of 23 with detailed informed consent requirements by statute that did not require the woman be told how far advanced her pregnancy was.[9] Georgia, Michigan, Arkansas and Idaho all required in 2007 that women must be provided by an abortion clinic with the option to view an image of their fetus if an ultrasound is used prior to the abortion taking place.[9] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by theUnited States Supreme Court in 1973 with theRoe v. Wade ruling.[10] On March 24, 2020, Governor Brad Little signed into law S1385, which is atrigger law stating that if and when states are again allowed to ban abortion on their own authority then abortion would be illegal in Idaho except for cases of the life of the mother, rape or incest.[11][12][13]
TheUnited States Supreme Court's decision in 1973'sRoe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[6] However, the Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No.19-1392, 597 U.S.215 (2022) later in 2022.[14][15]
On January 5, 2023, theIdaho Supreme Court ruled that the Idaho Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion, rejecting a challenge to the states' abortion laws byPlanned Parenthood.[16]
On September 12, 2023, four women filed alawsuit against Idaho over the state's abortion ban, stating that they were denied abortions despite having dangerous pregnancy complications.[17] One of the women represented in the lawsuit, whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal anomaly, gave birth prematurely in a hotel bathroom after traveling toPortland, Oregon for an abortion after being denied an abortion in Idaho.[18] A physician inBoise also reported that several patients experiencing severe pregnancy complications at the hospital where he works had to be airlifted out of state to receive care.[19]
On December 2, 2024, theNinth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Idaho can enforce its prohibition against minors traveling out of state for abortions without parental consent.[4]
In March 2025, theJustice Department under theDonald Trump's second term filed to drop a lawsuit theBiden administration filed in 2022 against Idaho.[20][21] In the 2022 lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that the state law violated theConstitution and was preempted by federal law, as it conflicted with the federalEmergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA requires hospitals receiving Medicare funds to provide necessary stabilizing treatment for an emergency medical condition.[22]
Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by six, going from fifteen in 1982 to nine in 1992.[23] In 2014, there were three abortion clinics in the state.[24] In 2014, 95% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 68% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[25] In 2017, there were three Planned Parenthood clinics, all of which offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 365,502 women aged 15–49.[26] Emerg-A-Care inJackson Hole, Wyoming also served women fromEastern Idaho.[27]
After the Supreme Court's decision inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, all three Planned Parenthood clinics stopped offering abortion services. Planned Parenthood closed a clinic in 2022 and another in 2024, leaving just one clinic in the state.[28][29]
In the period between 1972 and 1974, there was only no recorded illegal abortion death in the state.[clarification needed][30] In 1990, 106,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[23] The lowest number of legal induced abortions by state in 2000 occurred in Idaho with 801, while South Dakota was second with 878, and North Dakota was third with 1,341.[31] Idaho had the fewest induced abortions in 2001 with 738, while South Dakota was second with 895, and North Dakota was third with 1,216. Idaho had the lowest induced abortion to live birth ratio at 36 per 1,000 live births while New York City had the highest at 767. Based on the ratio of number of women aged 15–44 years, Idaho had the lowest rate of induced abortions at 3 per 1,000 women while the District of Columbia had the highest at 37 per 1,000.[32] In 2003, the state of South Dakota had the lowest number of legal induced abortions with 819. Idaho was second with 911, while North Dakota was third with 1,354. Idaho had the lowest ratio of induced abortions to live births at 42 per 1,000 in 2003 while New York City had the highest at 758 to 1,000.[33] In 2010, the state had zero publicly funded abortions.[34] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 170 abortions, zero abortions for black women aged 15–19, 40 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 20 abortions for women of all other races.[35] In 2014, 49% of adults said in a poll by thePew Research Center that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases vs. 45% believing it should be legal.[36] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.[37]
| Census division and state | Number | Rate | % change 1992–1996 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | ||
| US Total | 1,528,930 | 1,363,690 | 1,365,730 | 25.9 | 22.9 | 22.9 | –12 |
| Mountain | 69,600 | 63,390 | 67,020 | 21 | 17.9 | 18.6 | –12 |
| Arizona | 20,600 | 18,120 | 19,310 | 24.1 | 19.1 | 19.8 | –18 |
| Colorado | 19,880 | 15,690 | 18,310 | 23.6 | 18 | 20.9 | –12 |
| Idaho | 1,710 | 1,500 | 1,600 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 6.1 | –15 |
| Montana | 3,300 | 3,010 | 2,900 | 18.2 | 16.2 | 15.6 | –14 |
| Nevada | 13,300 | 15,600 | 15,450 | 44.2 | 46.7 | 44.6 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 6,410 | 5,450 | 5,470 | 17.7 | 14.4 | 14.4 | –19 |
| Utah | 3,940 | 3,740 | 3,700 | 9.3 | 8.1 | 7.8 | –16 |
| Wyoming | 460 | 280 | 280 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 2.7 | –37 |
| Location | Residence | Occurrence | % obtained by out-of-state residents | Year | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate^ | Ratio^^ | No. | Rate^ | Ratio^^ | ||||
| Idaho | 1,710 | 7.2 | 1992 | [38] | |||||
| Idaho | 1,500 | 5.8 | 1995 | [38] | |||||
| Idaho | 1,600 | 6.1 | 1996 | [38] | |||||
| Idaho | 1,767 | 5.6 | 77 | 1,353 | 4.3 | 59 | 5.2 | 2014 | [39] |
| Idaho | 1,695 | 5.3 | 74 | 1,272 | 4 | 56 | 4.6 | 2015 | [40] |
| Idaho | 1,725 | 5.4 | 77 | 1,289 | 4.0 | 57 | 3.4 | 2016 | [41] |
| ^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births | |||||||||
Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[42][43]
Following the leak of the overturn of Roe v. Wade on May 2, 2022, an abortion rights protest was held inBoise, Idaho.[44] On November 10, 2022, two abortion rights protesters who were present at theBoise, Idaho protests filed tort claims against the city, alleging that they were falsely arrested and imprisoned in violation of constitutional rights to peacefully assemble.[45]
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, an abortion rights protest was held inBoise, Idaho outside city hall.[46]
The Boise March for Life is an anti-abortion march that took place every January on the weekend anniversary ofRoe v. Wade, with a rally following. It is unclear whether it will still take place now that the Supreme Court has overturnedRoe v. Wade inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No.19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) in 2022.[14][15]
Shelley Shannon attempted to set fires at abortion clinics in Oregon, California, Idaho and Nevada during the late 1980s and early 1990s and eventually pleaded guilty to these cases of arson. In 1993, she was found guilty of attempted murder of Dr.George Tiller in 1993 at hisWichita, Kansas clinic.[47]
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