As abortion heads for the high court again, battles among states will provide even more conflicts on the issue

Federal judges recently issued conflicting abortion rulings that will likely send the issue back to the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative majority of which thought it had left the issue to the states, but conflicts among states over abortion will provide even more court battles, report Geoff Mulvihill and John Hanna of The Associated Press.

Idaho now has a law "making it illegal to provide help within the state’s boundaries to minors seeking an abortion without parental consent," AP reports. "The new law is obviously aimed at abortions obtained in other states, but it’s written to criminalize in-state behavior leading to the out-of-state procedure – a clear nod to the uncertainty surrounding efforts by lawmakers in at least half a dozen states to extend their influence outside their borders when it comes to abortion law.

"At the same time, Democrat-controlled states are advancing and adopting laws and executive orders intended to shield their residents against civil lawsuits and criminal investigations related to providing abortions for women from states where there are bans. But there is no legal precedent giving good guidance about whether states can influence their residents getting abortions outside their borders."

One part of the U.S. Constitution "requires states to respect the laws of other states while another recognizes the right to travel among states and a third restricts the ability of states to impair interstate commerce," AP notes. "Legal experts say that no prior cases are exactly comparable, though state laws have conflicted in weighty ways in the past."