University Of Idaho Says New Abortion Guidance Isn’t That Different From Before — But Faculty Could Still Face Criminal Prosecution

By NEWSer CHEWSer On Oct 6, 2022

| cutline • press clip |

Cryptopolytech Public Press Pass
News of the Day COVERAGE

200000048 – World Newser |•| 20000785 – Abortion – 14016000 |•| 20000811 – Euthanasia – 14005000 |•| 20000812 – Assisted Suicide |•| 20000099 – Homicide |•| 11007000 – Human Rights |•| iSSUES |•| Politics – POLY NEWSer – 11000000 |
•| #World |•| #Online |•| #Media |•| #Outlet |

View more Headlines & Breaking News here, as covered by cryptopolytech.com

Topline

The University of Idaho sent a memo to students and employees Wednesday clarifying recent guidance that warned employees who promote abortion or contraception while on the job could be charged with a felony, making clear the school’s guidance was based on state law and not a change to its own policies one day after President Joe Biden slammed the initial letter.

Central campus scene at the University of Idaho.

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Key Facts

The university sent an email to all employees on September 23 that warned doing anything involving abortion within the scope of their employment—including promoting it, performing an abortion, counseling in favor of it or referring someone to get an abortion—could be a felony under state law, as could promoting “services … for the prevention of conception.”

After that guidance attracted national attention and drew widespread outrage from faculty and students, the university said in a follow-up memo Wednesday it wanted to “clarify where the university stands,” noting that the university had not actually changed any of its own policies around abortion—but is rather just following state law—and does not impose any criminal charges or conduct investigations itself.

The university has also not changed its academic freedom policy and “??supports faculty leading discussions on any related educational topic within the classroom,” the memo said, after the initial guidance warned that “classroom discussions [of abortion]

After the university’s initial guidance stated it would no longer provide birth control, Wednesday’s memo clarified “there is no change to student access to contraceptives,” including condoms being provided through the school for the purpose of not transmitting disease and students being able to access reproductive care through student health clinics, which are operated by third-party companies and thus not subject to the state laws for university employees.

The university’s guidance is based on Idaho’s No Public Funds for Abortion Act, which was enacted in May 2021 and prohibits state funds from being used to promote or perform abortions, including provisions specifically stating no public school tuition fees can be used to pay for abortions or counsel in favor of them.

Another state law prohibits advertising or providing notice of “any medicine or means for producing or facilitating a miscarriage or abortion, or for the prevention of conception,” which the school pointed to as its reasoning to stop dispensing birth control itself.

Crucial Quote

The school’s initial guidance email “quickly took on a life of its own with misinformation, confusion and emotion leading the conversation,” the university said in its clarifying memo Wednesday. “This included those outside our university using this occasion to advance their own political agendas.”

Chief Critic

President Joe Biden spoke out against the University of Idaho’s guidance Tuesday in remarks during a meeting of his administration’s Reproductive Rights Task Force, particularly the school’s refusal to dispense or discuss birth control. “Folks, what century are we in? I mean, how — what are we doing?” Biden said. “I respect everyone’s view on this — personal decisions they make, but, my Lord, we’re talking about contraception here. It shouldn’t be that controversial.”

Tangent

The two laws cited in the university’s guidance are separate from Idaho’s laws that ban abortion and prohibit performing the procedure entirely. The state’s trigger ban went into effect in August—though a Biden administration lawsuit against it limited its scope. Idaho also has two other abortion ban laws in place, one which allows civil lawsuits against anyone who aids and abets an abortion and another six-week abortion ban that the total abortion trigger ban superseded. The state will defend those three laws Thursday in a hearing before the Idaho Supreme Court as it considers legal challenges brought by Planned Parenthood.

Key Background

The University of Idaho’s guidance sparked national outrage both on and off the school’s campus, with its student publication reporting the school’s Faculty Senate issued a joint statement calling it “an assault on our academic freedom” and students speaking out against the decision. On the national level, the school’s guidance has stoked existing fears among abortion rights advocates about how far reaching the impact of state-level abortion bans and the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade will be. Advocates have feared the ruling will result in the chilling of speech around abortion and birth control becoming a target, with Vice President Kamala Harris describing the school’s guidance on birth control Tuesday as an “early warning” of the impact the court’s ruling could have on other rights. The federal government also took action against university-based discrimination on abortion Tuesday in light of the controversy over the Idaho school’s guidance, with the Department of Education issuing new guidance and resources to universities emphasizing they’re obligated under federal law to “protect their students from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, including pregnancy termination.”