The Idaho legislature has advanced an abortion bill similar to the monumental Texas Senate Bill 8, also known as the Heartbeat Act, which bans most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks’ gestation. Texas became the first state ever to enforce a heartbeat law when the bill went into effect Sept. 1.

On March 14, the Idaho House passed Senate Bill 1309, also known as the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, after receiving approval from the state Senate earlier this month. The bill passed with a vote of 51 to 14, with no Democratic support.

The bill bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected except in most cases of medical emergency, rape or incest.

Unlike the Texas bill, which allows any citizen to sue anyone involved in an abortion procedure except the preborn child’s mother, the Idaho bill only allows family members of the preborn child to sue medical professionals who “knowingly or recklessly attempted, performed, or induced an abortion.” The bill provides a minimum reward of $20,000 plus legal fees within four years of the abortion for successful lawsuits, compared to a minimum $10,000 and legal costs under the Texas law.

“This bill makes sure that the people of Idaho can stand up for our values and do everything in our power to prevent the wanton destruction of innocent human life,” Republican Rep. Steven Harris, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement after the vote.

However, opponents of the Idaho legislation said it’s unconstitutional and is a violation of women’s rights.

“Idaho’s anti-abortion lawmakers ignored public opinion and rushed through this legislation, looking to capitalize on the U.S. Supreme Court’s failure to block Texas’s ban,” Planned Parenthood said, adding that the bill’s “sponsors and supporters” have been open about wanting Idaho to become “the next Texas.”

The bill now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little, where it’s expected to be signed into law. “If Little signs the bill, it would take effect as early as April, well before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in a case that could overturn or significantly weaken Roe v. Wade,” The Hill reported.

Photo: Viacheslav Iakobchuk/Alamy