Planned Parenthood, Idaho AG Raúl Labrador agree on out-of-state abortion referrals

Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman on Jul 17, 2025

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BOISE, Idaho — Idaho doctors are free to refer patients out of state for abortions without concern for criminal prosecution thanks to an agreement signed by the state’s top attorney that ended a lawsuit over the issue.

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, along with the Ada and Valley County prosecutors, on Thursday signed a consent decree — a legally binding settlement agreement — that prevents them from enforcing the state’s near-total abortion ban when it comes to health care providers’ ability to consult with patients on abortion options outside of Idaho.

The settlement concludes a two-year-old lawsuit brought against Labrador and the prosecutors in each of Idaho’s 44 counties by reproductive health care nonprofit Planned Parenthood and Idaho physicians Caitlin Gustafson and Darin Weyhrich. The majority of the county prosecutors were later dismissed as defendants.

Gustafson, Weyhrich and Planned Parenthood sued in April 2023 after Labrador issued an opinion that said doctors are in violation of Idaho laws banning abortion when they refer patients to states where the procedure is legal. The attorney general later rescinded the opinion.

Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, said in a news release that the settlement “ensures that health care providers in Idaho can continue doing what they are trained and ethically bound to do — offer accurate information and help patients access the care they need, even if that care is out of state.”

“In a state where abortion is banned, those referrals can be lifesaving,” Gibron added.

Labrador said in a statement that Idaho’s “strong pro-life laws remain fully in effect.”

“This settlement simply affirms what our office already made clear in court: We do not have the authority to prosecute referrals for out-of-state services,” Labrador said. “Resolving this matter through settlement avoids unnecessary litigation and protects Idaho taxpayers from further costs.”

According to the language in the consent decree, the legal protection for health care workers extends to several aspects of patient conversations around abortion pills or procedures, including consultations, recommendations, scheduling and funding sources.