A University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor is representing a coalition that filed a lawsuit challenging an anti-abortion law.
According to The Messenger, Penn Carey Law professor Seth Kreimer is defending the Idaho coalition that is challenging the No Public Funds for Abortion Act (NPFAA). The lawsuit argues that the NPFAA criminalizes behavior protected under the First Amendment by making it illegal to use public money to “promote abortion” or “counsel in favor of abortion.”
Kreimer will represent the plaintiffs in this case alongside the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho and Strindberg Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne, a law firm, The Messenger reports. The identified plaintiffs in the case include six Idaho professors and two teachers unions: the Idaho Federation of Teachers and the University of Idaho Faculty Federation.
The coalition of plaintiff representatives have described the NPFAA as “sweeping and unclear,” violating free speech and due process rights, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.
As a result of the NPFAA, any educational staff at a public university in Ohio who teaches or discusses abortion could face up to 14 years of imprisonment for doing so, the ACLU writes.
This lawsuit comes on the tail of memos from the University of Idaho and Boise State University administration warning staffers and professors to refrain from referring students to abortion providers or advising them on emergency contraception methods as a result of the NPFAA.
The educators involved in the lawsuit said the law is “vague and doesn’t define exactly what it means to promote or counsel in favor of abortion,” according to ABC News.
Some professors — in subjects like sociology, law, women in media, and human reproduction — have changed their course material to better fit the standards set out by the NPFAA. This has included pulling specific reading materials from their syllabi, cutting back on lectures, and refusing to provide substantive feedback on student research or writing, according to ABC news.
“How can we teach about U.S. society without addressing abortion — one of the defining cultural and political issues of the day? Our educators and students deserve better,” Martin Orr, president of the Idaho Federation of Teachers, said to the ACLU.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate