I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard that the so-called \u201cReproductive Freedom and Privacy Act\u201d has qualified for the ballot. That means you, the voters of Idaho, will face a clear choice this November: bring abortion back to Idaho, or maintain our state\u2019s status as a sanctuary for the unborn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of the initiative, now called Proposition 1, want you to believe this is simply about restoring the status quo before Roe v. Wade<\/em> was overturned four years ago. What they won\u2019t tell you is that, long before Roe<\/em>, Idaho protected preborn babies. Our first territorial legislature prohibited abortion in 1864 because our forefathers recognized what we continue to proclaim today: a preborn child is a human being deserving of legal protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supporters of Prop 1 also want you to believe this initiative is about compassion. It is not. Current Idaho law requires doctors to do everything possible to save both patients, including delivering a baby prematurely if necessary when serious health complications arise. Prop 1, by contrast, authorizes abortion up to birth if a provider determines that continuing the pregnancy threatens the health of the mother. That is a dramatic departure from Idaho\u2019s current protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some supporters of Prop 1 have expressed hope that, if passed, it could also undermine Idaho\u2019s laws protecting children from transgender drugs and surgeries. The initiative declares that \u201cevery person,\u201d regardless of age, has the right to make decisions related to their \u201creproductive health care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This language invites court challenges to many Idaho laws protecting children. Courts might ultimately interpret it differently, but do you really want to take that chance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prop 1 also threatens mothers. Since Idaho\u2019s Defense of Life laws took effect four years ago, maternal mortality numbers have improved. Abortion carries risks for women as well as their unborn children, particularly when performed by individuals who are not physicians, as the text of this initiative would allow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Prop 1 threatens parental rights. If this initiative passes, a minor girl could obtain an abortion six months into her pregnancy and her parents would never be told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proposition 1 does far more than repeal Idaho\u2019s Defense of Life laws or return us to the era of Roe v. Wade<\/em>. It creates sweeping new abortion rights that have never before existed in Idaho law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll say it again: Prop 1 is not about freedom, it\u2019s not about privacy, and it\u2019s certainly not about reproduction. This initiative would authorize the deliberate destruction of unique and precious human lives while weakening protections for parents, children, and the unborn. The Idaho GOP will continue to stand for life and urge Idahoans to vote no on Proposition 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard that the so-called \u201cReproductive Freedom and Privacy Act\u201d has qualified for the ballot. That means you, the voters of Idaho, will face a clear choice this November: bring abortion back to Idaho, or maintain our state\u2019s status as a sanctuary for the unborn. Supporters of the initiative, now called Proposition 1, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":18468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[243],"tags":[11,28,878],"class_list":["post-20086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions-op-eds","tag-abortion","tag-election","tag-initiative","cat-243-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20087,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20086\/revisions\/20087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}