Idaho bill will criminalize abortion if Roe v. Wade is reversed

BOISE — The Idaho Senate on Thursday approved legislation making abortion a crime should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling establishing abortion rights nationwide.

The Senate voted 27-7 Thursday to approve the measure that includes exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Under the measure, criminal punishment would apply to the person performing the abortion, not the woman. The measure now goes to the House.

A reversal of Roe would mean abortion policy would revert to the states. President Donald Trump has appointed two conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, and there’s speculation the court could overturn the 1973 Roe decision.

“From my perspective, the Supreme Court is moving in the right direction,” said Republican Sen. Todd Lakey.

Democratic Sen. Maryanne Jordan argued against the bill.

“To criminalize physicians for women’s healthcare is wrong” Jordan said. “To provide an exemption for rape or incest does not solve the problem of a woman who is victimized by abuse.”

Montana candidate drops out of U.S. House race

CORVALLIS, Mont. — Corvallis School District Superintendent Tim Johnson has removed his name from the race for the Montana seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, citing financial reasons for the decision.

“You have to operate your campaign like a business; there are minimum costs you have to cover,” Johnson said Tuesday. “My wife and I drew a line in the sand, financially, and said we would only spend so much of our own money and be responsible about it. We kept to that commitment.”

Johnson didn’t endorse any candidate, but encouraged voters to take responsibility and do their research, the Ravalli Republic reported. Nine other candidates remain in the running, including six Republicans, two Democrats and a Green Party candidate.

Johnson will complete his tenure as superintendent of the Corvallis School District on June 30 before the new superintendent, Jon Konen, of Great Falls, is scheduled to start July 1, he said.

Sex offender arrested at Oregon airport trying to flee country

EUGENE, Ore. — Eugene police and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a sex offender trying to flee the country at the Eugene Airport early Thursday.

James Murphy, 57, was arrested near the departure gate for a 6 a.m. flight to Indonesia, the Register-Guard reported.

Murphy faces two counts of felony failure to register as a sex offender and six counts of misdemeanor failure to register as a sex offender.

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Murphy hasn’t registered as a sex offender since 2013. He was convicted in 2008 of three counts of online sexual corruption of a child.

The U.S. Marshals Service had tried to apprehend Murphy during two operations conducted in and around Lane County. However, authorities were unable to find him during those efforts.

Man accused of confining, assaulting woman

YAKIMA — Prosecutors charged a 36-year-old Yakima man with assault after they say he punched and choked a woman and confined her to a pump house for a week.

Nicholas Lasiter also was charged earlier this week with unlawful imprisonment in the incident, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer.

Yakima County sheriff’s deputies went to a business in the Terrace Heights area March 4, where they found a woman sitting outside with dried blood on her face, arms and hands, according to court documents. She told deputies that she and Lasiter were staying in a pump house and that he would not let her leave, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

On March 4, she said she tried to leave but Lasiter punched her and choked her, the affidavit said. She was able to escape, locked Lasiter inside and ran to the business.

Lasiter is being held at the Yakima County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Spokane St. Patrick’s Day parade canceled over coronavirus concerns

SPOKANE — The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick committee made the decision Wednesday night to cancel the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade planned for this Saturday because of concerns about the coronavirus, said Kevin Cotter, the group’s president.

“Based on the announcement by the governor, Nadine Woodward and health officials, we took it that we should follow their recommendations and their directions, and limit the number of people that are gathered together, so we decided to cancel the parade,” Cotter said.”We decided it was the best interest for our community.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Spokane Mayor Woodward were among a number of officials nationwide who called for people to reconsider plans to assemble in large groups as the contagious coronavirus pandemic continues to spread worldwide.