In Idaho, having an abortion, even from the first moments of conception, can result in a charge of murder. And no exception is possible for rape or incest. The bill that has been proposed by Republican Senator Brandon Shippy, an ultra-conservative with very traditionalist views, would consider embryos and fetuses as “human beings born alive.”
“Our worth and right to life as human beings is not derived from external circumstances or opinions, but from the Imago Dei,” Shippy said introducing the proposal.
According to the text of Shippy’s proposed legislation, the “preborn child” is a “human being.” If women decided to have abortions, even during pregnancies following incest or rape, they could be subject to condemnation as murderers, and the biological father would be entitled to sue his partner, claiming the “right to life” of the fetus, which the state “should protect like any other life.” In the bill, doctors who intervene to save the mother’s life do not face penalties if they act to have the embryo survive as well.
Currently, the bill is being debated within the relevant committee in the Senate. All Republicans in the caucus have voted in favor of its introduction, while Democrats have strongly opposed it. If passed, the legislation, which is not retroactive, would authorize law enforcement agencies to investigate all suspicious incidents.
Until now, Idaho’s abortion laws, already very strict but with some exceptions, had only prosecuted doctors. Now the responsibility would fall on the mothers.
