Tennessee is the second state in the country to enact an abortion trafficking ban after Idaho, which enacted a similar measure in April 2023.
A federal judge in November 2023 blocked enforcement of the Idaho statute, issuing a temporary restraining order against it after opponents, including two organizations that support abortion and a lawyer who helps underage girls get abortions, challenged it in court.
Opponents argued in court papers filed in July 2023 that the Idaho law unconstitutionally restricts travel between states and within states and that it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by infringing on the right “to engage in expressive conduct, including providing monies and transportation (and other support) for pregnant minors traveling within and outside of Idaho to access out-of-state legal abortion care.”
They also argued that some underage girls seek abortions because they were sexually abused by a parent or guardian or because they are victims of human trafficking for sex, and therefore consult with “trusted adults who support their position.”
In support of the Idaho statute, the state attorney general’s office argued in court papers in September 2023 that the U.S. Constitution “protects the rights of parents to not only make those medical decisions for their children” but also to be with their children when they are getting medical attention. The state attorney general’s office also argued that Idaho ought to be immune from being sued in federal court over the state statute under the federal Constitution’s 11th Amendment, which limits the ability to sue states in federal courts.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora Grasham in her decision blocking enforcement of the law called the Idaho statute “unconstitutionally vague” and said it violates freedom of speech.
“The state can, and Idaho does, criminalize certain conduct occurring in its own borders such as abortion, kidnapping, and human trafficking. What the state cannot do is craft a statute muzzling the speech and expressive activities of a particular viewpoint with which the state disagrees under the guise of parental rights,” Grasham wrote in the decision dated Nov. 8.
Federal magistrate judges are appointed by federal district court judges to four-year or eight-year terms. They help with caseloads.
The Idaho attorney general’s office has appealed the decision. The case is pending.
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