An abortion facility in Bend has become a player in an ongoing Idaho police investigation.
Authorities in Pocatello, a city of about 60,000 in southeast Idaho, have charged Kadyn Leo Swainston, 18, and his mother, Rachael Swainston, 42, with multiple felonies each. Police say that the pair took the teen’s underage girlfriend to Planned Parenthood in Bend to undergo an abortion, though court documents reveal that she had been “happy” about the pregnancy. The adult boyfriend, now charged with rape, was not.
Among the charges for the Swainstons was second-degree kidnapping. The 15-year-old’s parents were unaware of the invasive procedure their daughter was receiving approximately 550 miles away from their care in May of 2023 and did not consent.
If convicted of the rape charge, Kadyn could face life in prison. His other four felony charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 115 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $200,000. He and his mother were charged without Idaho’s recently enacted abortion trafficking law, which makes it illegal to help a minor receive an abortion across state lines without her parents’ consent. The law is currently being challenged in court.
Oregon Right to Life’s executive director called the situation heartbreaking.
“I have two daughters and remember how vulnerable they were at 15 and 16,” says Lois Anderson. “The case illustrates the urgent need for sidewalk counseling in Bend and Ontario so that we can directly communicate that there are alternatives to abortion, and we need political leaders who will prioritize vulnerable mothers and their babies over Planned Parenthood’s profits.”
This case isn’t the only of its kind. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette reports that the number of patients from Idaho has increased from 31 to 392.
