Idaho legislators introduced the “abortion trafficking” legislation in February. The law added a new section to Idaho code that made it illegal for an adult to help a minor procure an abortion “with the intent to conceal” the abortion from the minor’s parents or guardian. Gov. Brad Little signed the law on April 6, and an emergency enactment provision meant it went into effect in early May, about two weeks before the Swainstons traveled to Bend with Kadyn’s underage girlfriend.

The law had abortion access advocates on high alert, and it was challenged in court by an Idaho attorney, the Northwest Abortion Access Fund and Indigenous Idaho Alliance in July. By then, an investigation into the Swainstons was already underway.

“I think that case and others like it is just an example of the reality that post-Roe America is forcing everyone to evaluate,” said Kelly O’Neill, an Idaho attorney for Legal Voice, in an interview with the Statesman. Legal Voice, a nonprofit advocacy group for gender equity is part of a cohort that sued the state in July over the abortion travel law.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed federal abortion protections in June 2022 with the repeal of Roe v. Wade, Idaho has instated some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. They include a complete ban on abortions except when the life of the pregnant person is at risk or in cases of rape or incest that have been reported to police.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.world
    32·
    1 year ago

    Article really makes it sound like boyfriend and boyfriend’s mom coerced her into an abortion, not that they simply assisted her in getting one.

    "In June, the underage girl’s mother filed a police report, telling officials her daughter had been sexually assaulted by Kadyn Swainston, a probable cause affidavit showed. The girl alleged that Rachael Swainston dissuaded her from telling her parents about her pregnancy. The minor told police she was initially happy about the pregnancy, while Kadyn wasn’t, the document said.

    The affidavit said the girl “refused” to call Planned Parenthood to schedule the abortion appointment. Instead, Rachael Swainston made arrangements with the clinic. The girl’s parents told law enforcement they were never asked about transporting their daughter across state lines or giving Rachael Swainston consent to make medical decisions for the teen."

    This is a totally different scenario from “poor girl gets knocked up, wants an abortion but can’t get one.”

    • Rivalarrival
      29·
      1 year ago

      To be fair, all of those claims come from the mother and the prosecutor. The claim that a 15-year-old was “happy” about being pregnant strains credibility. My intuition tells me that she was likely either misquoted, or that there is important context or subtext missing from the affidavit. For example, coercion by her parents.

      Important to note is that Oregon law does not require parental consent for a 15-year-old abortion patient. Once she was in the clinic, the decision to proceed with the abortion was legally hers and hers alone.