Idaho abortion ballot initiative approved to go before voters in November

An Idaho ballot initiative seeking to create a law guaranteeing "reproductive freedom" has been approved to appear before voters in the election this November, a group supporting the initiative says.

Key Takeaways:

• A pro-abortion organization has secured enough signatures to place a ballot measure guaranteeing the "right" to abortion before Idaho voters in November.

• Pro-life groups say that if the measure passes, it will undo nearly all pro-life protections in the state.

• Idaho law currently protects nearly all preborn children from abortion.

The Details:

The pro-abortion organization Idahoans United for Women & Families has reportedly gathered enough signatures during its petition initiative to place the measure on the ballot in the general election on November 3. The group says it received more than 110,000 signatures, surpassing the 70,725 minimum requirement.

Similar to constitutional amendments instituted in other states around the country, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act "establishes a right to make private reproductive health care decisions, including abortion up to fetal viability and in medical emergencies." It lumps together the killing of preborn children by abortion with childbirth care, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and more.

The Act states:

"Every person has the right to reproductive freedom and privacy, which is the right to make personal decisions about reproductive health care that directly impact the person’s own body, including but not limited to the right to make decisions about:

i. Abortion;

ii. Childbirth care;

iii. Contraception;

iv. Fertility treatment;

v. Miscarriage care; and

vi. Prenatal, pregnancy, and postpartum care.

The act would serve as a law, and would not impact the state's constitution.

“Put very simply, this law restores us to the standard that we had under Roe in Idaho for nearly five decades,” said Melanie Folwell, director of the Idahoans United for Women & Families campaign. That "standard" was the legal killing of preborn children in the womb.

Zoom In:

After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, an Idaho law protecting nearly all preborn children from abortion went into effect. Should this ballot measure pass, pro-life groups warn that it would undo those crucial pro-life protections.

David Ripley, the CEO of Idaho Chooses Life, told the Associated Press the group will be actively campaigning against the proposal.

“This is going to have a profound impact on Idaho,” he said, “and will basically invalidate virtually every pro-life law that the legislature has enacted over the last 30 to 40 years.”

In an op-ed published Monday, Idaho GOP chairwoman Dorothy Moon decried the ballot measure as "radical and deceptive."

"Abortion is not about freedom, it’s not about privacy, and it’s certainly not about reproduction. Abortion is the deliberate destruction of a unique and precious human life, which is why the Idaho GOP will always oppose this barbaric practice," she wrote.

The Bottom Line:

Despite what voters may choose to decide, there is never a justified or legal reason to kill an innocent preborn child.