Teenager Arrested in Idaho, Continuing Criminalization Trend
1.15.25
Click to skip ahead: Criminalizing Pregnancy reports on an Idaho teen arrested for ‘failing to report a death.” Legislation Watch looks at a Texas bill attacking mifepristone and the Mississippi legislation targeting ‘the helpers.’ In the Courts, South Carolina doctors are suing over the state’s ban, and an Idaho hospital is suing the Republican Attorney General over emergency abortion. In the States, New Jersey is stockpiling abortion medication, Virginia is one step closer to putting a pro-choice amendment in front of voters, and New York’s governor announced a series of new pro-choice protections. In the Nation, Trump’s AG appointee Pam Bondi was asked about abortion during her confirmation hearing.
Criminalizing Pregnancy
I missed this story when it first broke in November—but given the rapid increase in criminalizing pregnancy loss, I wanted to make sure you all knew about it. An 18-year-old was arrested and charged with 'failing to report a death' after placing a deceased newborn in an Idaho 'baby box.’
As you can imagine, this is a tragic story top to bottom: The teenager told police that she had hidden her pregnancy from her parents, gave birth alone in her room, and tried to feed and care for the baby. In other words, this was a young, vulnerable person in the middle of a crisis. She needed help, not prosecution.
Since Roe was overturned, pregnancy-related prosecutions have sharply increased—and most follow a familiar pattern. The teen wasn’t charged with anything suggesting that she caused her newborn’s death, for example, but with the seemingly unrelated charge of ‘failing to report a death.’ That’s a common tactic by law enforcement (as this 2024 report from If/When/How lays out). Prosecutors will charge people with ‘practicing medicine without a license,’ or—as was the case with Brittany Watts—’abuse of a corpse.’
This story out of Idaho should also serve as a reminder that these ‘baby boxes’ aren’t helpful, but harmful. The boxes are rarely used and primarily serve to funnel money to anti-abortion groups connected to the program. Parents who leave infants in 'baby boxes' often cannot regain custody of their child. (Some parents—who tried to do the right thing in the middle of a crisis moment—have spent years trying to get their babies back.)
When asked about the Idaho case, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Box, Monica Kelsey, didn’t seem to have much empathy for the young woman: “Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment.”
You know what would actually be helpful? Comprehensive sex education, free birth control, abortion access, and the ability to get pre- and post-natal pregnancy care without fear of punishment.
If you missed Abortion, Every Day’s breaking news yesterday, make sure to read it below:
Legislation Watch
Let’s start with Texas, where the attacks on abortion medication continue on—with Republicans getting more creative than ever. Both The Guardian and Jezebel have good breakdowns of the different GOP bills targeting abortion pills, which include legislation to make abortion medication a ‘controlled substance’ (as Louisiana did), a bill that would classify mailing abortion medication as a “deception trade practice,” and legislation to ban pro-choice websites.
It’s this last bill, HB 991, that I’ve been paying closest attention to; in fact, I did a deep dive into the legislation not too long ago. The bill would force internet service providers to block any site that contains information about how to obtain abortions or abortion medication. That means the websites of pro-choice organizations and abortion funds would be banned—even Abortion, Every Day would be illegal! What’s more, the legislation includes a list of specific websites that would be banned, including: Aid Access, Hey Jane, Plan C Pills, Just the Pill, and Carafem.
Obviously, this is an explicit attack on free speech. But as I wrote in my 2025 predictions, I think Republicans may try to find a way around it. Specifically, I believe they’ll double down on the lie that they’re protecting minors. (There’s a reason HB 991 is called “Women and Child Safety Act!”) They might start by banning these websites on school grounds, for example, or requiring age verification systems to scare teens away from accessing certain urls.
Remember the Mississippi bill I told you about on Monday that would punish anyone who helps a teen get an abortion with 20 years to life in prison? I know, hard to forget! I just wanted to flag a few bits of language from the legislation that had me yelling at my laptop. First, there’s this:
“The medical, emotional and psychological consequences of abortion are often serious and can be lasting, particularly when the patient is young or immature.”
Truly, if someone is too “young or immature” for a ten minute procedure, how in the fuck are they old and mature enough to parent?? This continues to be one of the most obvious hypocrisies in Republican abortion policy.
The Mississippi bill also drops one of our nightmare anti-abortion glossary words: “pre-viability separation procedure.” Also called ‘maternal fetal separation,’ this is a way for Republicans to codify the idea that patients with life-threatening pregnancies should be given c-sections or forced into vaginal labor rather than safer and less traumatic abortions.
Language like this is exactly why I spend so much time picking apart anti-abortion terms: they’re hiding their extremism in plain sight.
In the Courts
You all know I’ve been paying close attention to emergency abortion—specifically, the Republican attempts to do away with it. It wasn’t so long ago that the issue was in front of the Supreme Court, with Idaho GOP leaders arguing for the state’s right to deny women life-saving care.
For those who need a refresher: The Biden administration sued Idaho over its abortion ban, arguing that it violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The Court threw the issue back to a lower court, but upheld a block that prevents the state from denying women emergency abortions.
Anticipating Trump’s inauguration—and fearing his administration might drop the suit—Idaho’s largest hospital system is suing state Attorney General Raúl Labrador to protect their ability to provide life-saving care. In a release, St. Luke’s Health System noted that “without the injunction, patients, physicians and other licensed professionals will be harmed.”
I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one, but in the meantime, read Abortion, Every Day’s breakdown of the EMTALA ruling:
Meanwhile, five South Carolina OBGYNs are suing in federal court over their state’s abortion ban, arguing that it violates their religious freedom. The suit alleges that the state ban—which prohibits abortion once there’s ‘cardiac activity’—requires doctors to delay or deny care for ill patients, even if it goes against their “core religious convictions and causes them severe emotional distress.”
Dr. Patricia Seal, for example, shared a story of a patient with worsening kidney disease who was denied an abortion until she was on the verge of needling dialysis. As a result of that delay, the woman might require a transplant.
From Allison Zimmer with The Lawyering Project, an attorney for the doctors:
“Many people who support abortion are people of faith, and they not only believe that abortion should be provided and should be accessible but, also as a matter of their faith, are compelled to provide that care.”
States Newsroom points out that the suit is a “a flip of the religious exemption in state law.” Usually, South Carolina’s law is about protecting health care workers’ ability to refuse abortion care if they have religious objections; this suit argues that the ban discriminates against doctors whose religion compels them to provide abortions to patients.
South Carolina’s abortion ban will also go in front of the state Supreme Court. As I reported last month, the justices will hear arguments over whether the law bans abortion at six or nine weeks. (It has to do with a disagreement over when ‘cardiac activity’ begins.)
In the States
This is great news: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a series of abortion rights protections yesterday, including one to help shield abortion providers from harassment. The Democratic governor says she’ll introduce a law that will allow providers who prescribe abortion medication to keep their name hidden on prescription bottles.
That’s an incredibly important protection, especially for those who prescribe the pills to patients in anti-abortion states. Without a provider’s name, it will be that much harder for zealous anti-abortion Republicans to target them with out-of-state suits.
Hochul’s announcement comes in the wake of a New York abortion provider being sued by the Texas Attorney General for prescribing abortion medication to a woman in his state.
Hochul also announced that her office will distribute $25 million from the state’s Reproductive Freedom and Equity Grant Fund—money earmarked for abortion providers.
New Jersey Democrats are also gearing up for the looming Trump administration by stockpiling abortion medication. During his ‘State of the State’ address on Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy revealed that the state’s health department has already secured a six-month supply of mifepristone. This “strategic reserve,” his office said, is a proactive step to shield the state from potential federal attacks on abortion pills once Trump takes office.
New Jersey isn’t alone in this effort—other pro-choice states, including Washington and Massachusetts, have also begun stockpiling mifepristone to prepare for what’s ahead. It’s an important move, given that Trump’s administration could make the drug effectively illegal by enforcing the Comstock Act. (More on this later in the newsletter.)
In our last bit of good state news, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a resolution to codify abortion rights, taking the first step toward adding a pro-choice amendment to the state constitution. In Virginia, constitutional amendments have to be passed twice in two years before they can go to voters for approval.
Per usual, Republicans fought against the effort, recycling the same tired attacks they’ve launched against pro-choice ballot initiatives in other states: The Virginia GOP called the amendment “extreme,” falsely claiming it would allow abortion ‘up until birth.’ Democratic Majority Leader Charniele Herring pushed back, saying, “I trust our Virginia voters; it seems like the other side of the aisle does not.”
As the Associated Press points out, if Virginia were to pass a pro-choice amendment, it would make the state an abortion rights outlier in the South.
Quick hits:
Montana Public Radio covers the Republican Attorney General’s attempt to get parental consent for abortion in front of the Supreme Court.
Wyoming Republicans are battling over whether state Senate members are sufficiently anti-abortion.
And Kentucky Democratic Rep. Lindsey Burke has filed a symbolic bill to restore abortion access.
In the Nation
In one of the most “sure, Jan” moments we’ve seen in a while, Trump’s pick for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, said today that she wouldn’t let her personal beliefs on abortion impact her work. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Cory Booker asked Bondi if she would defend abortion medication and the FDA’s judgment from lawsuits. The former Florida AG said, “I have always been pro-life, but I will look at that policy,” claiming that she wouldn’t let her “personal beliefs” impact how she carries the policy out.
But Bondi isn’t just “personally pro-life”—anti-abortion extremism is a major part of her political and professional life: Bondi is one of the founding members of the National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus, a group formed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America that’s dedicated to electing anti-abortion political leaders and passing anti-abortion laws. (It’s like a fucked up, extremist EMILY’s List.)
I don’t think I need to explain why that’s so troubling. As Reproductive Freedom for All tweeted today, Bondi “could use her position to block access to medication abortion nationwide—even in states where abortion is legal.” Namely, she could use the Comstock Act to criminalize the mailing of abortion medication or anything else the Trump administration deems ‘obscene.’
If you’re looking for more information on where other Trump appointees stand on abortion rights, check out this terrific new tool from the Center for Reproductive Rights: Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch.
Quick hits:
Slate details “the GOP plot to bankrupt Planned Parenthood.”
Salon on the study showing young people fleeing anti-abortion states.
The Washington Post on the post-Roe surge in vasectomies and sterilizations.
And the anti-abortion activists convicted of attacking a Washington DC abortion clinic are asking Donald Trump for a presidential pardon.
“Stripping Planned Parenthood clinics of federal funding is discriminatory, since it treats the organization differently from others that provide the same services; more urgently, it threatens to deny medical services to those who need them the most.”
- Rachel Rebouché, The Nation
Early in my teaching career I taught in an international school in a "third world" country. When I returned to Chicago after that year, my city had a 3 day power outage during a heat wave. I was already used to power outages and preparing for them on the island nation I had taught in. So, when my political book club group and I read Project 2025, I could recognize a formula for a third world nation. In such countries the lives of women are always in jeopardy due to lack of status in these male dominated societies. It boggles my mind that so many people are so misinformed about the genders and buy into all sorts of male power ideas that are just not real.
As a White Supremacist nation where the people who will be in charge have a big Birtherist agenda, we are going to see life become really dangerous all over for women of child bearing years. There will be bombardment on many fronts. We need to be bombarding back, with finding people to do test cases for the courts to advance policies we want, just as the right wing has been doing for decades, and with great success under this MAGA Christian Nationalist dominated Supreme Court.
It's going to get gruesomer and gruesomer.