Idaho to stop enforcing telemedicine abortion bans

Women will no longer be banned from receiving abortion-inducing medication through telemedicine in Idaho under a newly reached agreement. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands announced Monday that the lawsuit settlement lifts unnecessary burdens on women seeking safe abortions. The organization’s lawsuit was directed at two laws passed in 2015 that required doctors to be present when administering pregnancy-ending pills. Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of the legislation argued that the law better protects women’s health against so-called “webcam abortions,” which are not accessible in Idaho Under the agreement, the Idaho Legislature has until the end of the 2017 legislative session to repeal the laws. If not, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill will declare the laws unconstitutional and unenforceable.