Idaho universities disallow abortion, contraception referral

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho universities are warning staffers not to refer students to abortion providers or emergency contraception. One school also says employees shouldn’t tell students how to get birth control. It’s the latest restriction in a state that already holds some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. Mike Satz, a Boise attorney and former interim dean at the University of Idaho’s College of Law, said the guidance from the University of Idaho and Boise State University will have a chilling effect on speech. The prohibition on abortion and emergency contraception referrals come from a law passed in 2021. The ban on advertising birth control comes from a law passed in 1867, before Idaho was a state.