Idaho Abortion Law Deemed to Burdensome

Woman given permission to challenge law in court

An Idaho woman can challenge a state law making it a crime for a woman to have an abortion, said a federal appeals court that also reversed an order barring enforcement of the statute.

The San Francisco-based court said the law couldn't be enforced against Jennie Linn McCormack. It ruled that a lower court erred when it issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Idaho law that makes it a felony for a woman to purposely abort a pregnancy unless the procedure is performed in the first trimester by a doctor.

McCormack allegedly used a prescription drug, obtained from a physician through the Internet, to induce an abortion in 2010, the court said. She was charged by Bannock County prosecutors with violating Idaho's law. The case was dismissed, and McCormack sued to overturn the statute.