Idaho approves bill to ban most abortions after 6 weeks, joining 8 other states
New law, modeled on Texas legislation, will take effect in 30 days
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho on Thursday joined eight other Republican-led states in severely restricting access to abortion, approving a bill that bars the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
The Republican-controlled Statehouse passed the bill and sent it to GOP Gov. Brad Little, who is expected to sign it into law. It will take effect in 30 days, meaning Idaho will become the first state to enact a so-called "heartbeat bill" since the U.S. Supreme Court declined in December to block a similar law in Texas.
The new legislation is part of a wave of restrictive bills that have been advancing in GOP-led states across the country after the Supreme Court, with its new conservative majority, signaled a willingness to uphold new limits on abortion.
Other states with six-week abortion bans
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Mississippi
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
