Abortion Bills Restricting Travel Out Of State Take From Anti-Trans Bills

This should surprise nobody - the fights are interconnected.

South Carolina has released a bill into committee that would make it a crime to take a minor out of state for an abortion. Cleveland 19 News reported that those traveling out of state in Ohio may not be safe from anti-abortion laws there under “aiding and abetting” language. The Texas Freedom Caucus has proposed its own out of state restrictions on abortions. But what if I told you that this was nothing new, and that this actually draws on anti-trans language from earlier this year?

Earlier this year, Idaho passed an anti-trans bill 55-13 in their state house. This bill was one of a kind in a year filled with anti-transgender legislation. It would have made providing gender affirming care to transgender teenagers a felony with a life sentence. In particular relevance to this topic, it would have made leaving the state with a trans teen to seek gender affirming care a felony:

The bill ultimately failed in the senate, but only because it was never taken off the table for advancement. That same week, a Missouri lawmaker proposed a bill banning out of state travel for pregnant people leaving the state to have an abortion. Neither bill gained traction, but an Idaho representative made the explicit connection between the two bills:

Steph Herold @StephHerold

Surprising no one, transphobic legislators are making it very clear that they see their bigotry as part and parcel of the anti-abortion movement: From Idaho: "I see this conversation as an extension of the pro-life argument."

idahopress.comHouse passes anti-trans youth treatment billOn a near-party-line vote, the Idaho House on Tuesday HB 675, Nampa Rep. Bruce Skaug’s bill to make it a felony to provide gender care to transgender youth,

So what can we do about the out of state travel bans? Well, one answer has been in safe state bills. The very first safe state bills came shortly after Texas announced that it would be investigating the parents of transgender teenagers and charging them with child abuse. Parents were suddenly faced with the possibility that they would have to flee, and many launched gofundmes. States began getting to work on the best way to protect these fleeing families. California, Minnesota, and New York all announced safe state bills within a month.

Erin Reed @ErinInTheMorn

There are 3 states proposing laws to make their states “safe states” for trans families fleeing Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, and possibly Florida. - California - Minnesota - New York They will block out of state warrants and extradition. I break it down on TikTok @ErinInTheMorn.

Transgender people laid the groundwork for what would become a very important fight. Now we see states borrowing the safe state language from bills protecting transgender people and using it to protect abortion refugees. These bills ban extradition, ban the use of resources in extradition, ban enforcement of subpoenas, and ban state compliance with them. We have not seen this kind of a constitutional interstate crisis since the fugitive slave laws.

It is so important for you to get in contact with your representatives and ask them to pass safe state laws that protect abortion AND transgender people. You can use this site to do so - it will provide their social media contacts which can be an even easier way of reaching them.