Party-line vote passes 20-week abortion ban in House committee

The House State Affairs Committee has voted along party lines to pass SB 1165, the 20-week abortion ban, sending it to the House with a recommendation that it “do pass.” Rep. Carlos Bilbao, R-Emmett, said, “Anyone, anyone who denies the existence of life at the beginning is wrong in mind. And when it comes to a standard that the courts say, my standard is life, my standard is what God gave me to make a right choice, and I’ll make the right choice today.”

The four Democrats on the committee opposed the bill. “There are a litany of things that cause me a little bit of concern,” said Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, from classifying induction of labor as abortion to criminalizing physicians. “Bottom line, it’s unconstitutional,” she said. The bill earlier passed the Senate.