Idaho abortion measure to appear on ballot in November, pro-lifers warn
Caroline MolloyAn abortion-related initiative on Idaho’s November ballot could dismantle the state’s protections for unborn children and allow abortion after fetal viability in some circumstances, pro-life advocates warn.
The measure, known as the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, would establish a broad “right” to reproductive freedom and identify abortion and contraception as private reproductive decisions. If passed, the initiative would allow abortions up to fetal viability and after viability in medical emergencies. The measure defines “fetal viability” as determined on a case-by-case basis according to a physician’s judgment about whether the fetus could survive outside the womb without “extraordinary medical measures.”
Supporters of the abortion measure submitted about 110,000 signatures to qualify the initiative for the Nov. 3 ballot, according to Boise State Public Radio, an NPR affiliate. Idaho initiatives require signatures from 6% of eligible voters, about 70,000 for this election.
Pro-life advocates opposed to the measure argue that it would permit abortions throughout all nine months of pregnancy in many circumstances and nullify Idaho’s Defense of Life Act, which establishes protections for both mothers and their unborn children.
The state’s Defense of Life Act, which took effect in August 2022, prohibits most abortions and has saved nearly 6,000 unborn children, according to a press release from Stanton Public Policy Center. The organization is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare, an Idaho-based network of nonprofit women’s medical clinics that provide alternatives to abortion.
According to the policy center, no women have been arrested following miscarriages, no doctors have been prosecuted under the act for providing legitimate medical care, and no maternal deaths have been attributed to the restrictions since the law took effect, countering predictions abortion supporters made about the law’s impact.
Brandi Swindell, founder and CEO of Stanton Healthcare and Stanton Public Policy Center, said in the release that the law has protected women from coercion and provided a foundation for compassionate, life-affirming care.
“Every woman deserves compassionate healthcare, truthful information, meaningful support, and the freedom to welcome her child without the fear, pressure, or violence of abortion,” Swindell said. “Idaho has demonstrated that we can protect both women and their children, and we should continue building a culture where every mother is surrounded with hope, practical resources, and life-affirming care.”
