Planned Parenthood, Wasden move to dismiss abortion ban suit

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Planned Parenthood officials say it’s time to dismiss a lawsuit challenging two anti-abortion laws in Idaho.

Earlier this year, a federal judge agreed to give the Idaho Legislature time to repeal two laws passed in 2015 banning women from receiving abortion-inducing medication through telemedicine. Republican lawmakers begrudgingly complied and Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter signed the repeal legislation on April 4.

According to court documents filed last week, both Wasden’s office and Planned Parenthood are asking the judge to drop the case now that the statutes have been reversed.

The issue began when Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands sued the state in 2015, arguing the bans put unnecessary burdens on women seeking safe abortions. A federal judge then warned he would rule those laws as unconstitutional and unenforceable if lawmakers didn’t take them off the books this session.