A vote for Prop 1 will clean the slate so that the Legislature can debate and enact reasonable abortion restrictions.
By Jim Jones | October 19, 2026
Idaho has the most extreme abortion law in the Intermountain West. Our surrounding states have been saving the lives of Idaho women with dangerous pregnancies ever since Idaho’s total abortion ban became law in August 2022. The total ban was a so-called “trigger law” that would only become effective if the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade was overturned. The total ban was primarily a political statement and was not carefully crafted because there was no realistic expectation that it would ever be triggered. This accidental law has been driving a wedge between doctors and their pregnant patients ever since it went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
The two worst parts of the total ban are that it: (1) criminalizes the termination of a pregnancy, commencing “with fertilization” and (2) makes it a felony offense for a doctor to terminate a pregnancy unless it is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” An abortion may not be performed to save the life of the woman, only to prevent her death. The gap between the two concepts may be small, but it makes a tremendous difference for a woman on the brink. And to a doctor who may lose his or her license to practice and get a 2-5 year prison sentence for making a call that might be second-guessed by an ambitious prosecutor.
The best thing Prop 1 will do is to eliminate these dangerous parts of the total ban. Idaho doctors will no longer have to provide necessary care to pregnant women with a prison sentence weighing on their minds. Women will no longer have to be life-flighted to Utah for care they can’t get in Idaho. Shouldn’t Idaho women have the same rights and protections that Utah women have?
Despite the misinformation being dished out by Prop 1 opponents, its approval will not be the catastrophe that they claim. Just like any other law, Prop 1 can be amended by the Legislature and there is no doubt that it will be a major subject of action in next year’s legislative session. Legislators, as well as groups and individuals with every perspective, will have the chance to have their voices heard.
The official Republican Party will undoubtedly weigh in with its extreme 2026 platform, which Attorney General Labrador and most other top GOP officials support. It says: “human personhood begins at the moment of fertilization…the act of abortion is murder…We support the criminalization of all murders by abortion.” That includes “persons conceived in rape and incest.” It is most likely that these draconian restrictions will be rejected and that some compromise by reasonable legislators will prevail.
Let’s take a look at some of the untruths being thrown out in the furious TV blitz against Prop 1. Opponents claim the initiative will eliminate parental consent for minors to get an abortion. That flies in the face of a statute specifically requiring parental consent. They claim people other than doctors will be able to perform abortions. Wrong again, because another statute makes it “unlawful for any person other than a physician” to perform an abortion.
One of the TV ads of the opposition forces says: “Most people agree there’s a point in every pregnancy when it’s just too late for an abortion. Good people can disagree about where to draw that line, but Proposition one erases it.” Truth be told, Prop 1 draws the line at the point where a fetus can live outside of the womb–about 23-24 weeks. The opponents erase the line entirely, criminalizing abortions from the point of fertilization, subject to a few very narrow exceptions.
While we must draw a line where abortion becomes unlawful, that line should not be dictated by religious belief. Life beginning at fertilization is a worthy belief in the religious realm, but violation of that or any other religious belief should not provide grounds for criminal punishment. That would offend the Establishment of Religion wording of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The opponents complain about out-of-state influence in favor of Prop 1, but roughly 60% of the proponent’s $4.5 million in contributions as of October 9 were from in-state donors. Speaking of outside support, the opponent’s TV ad about drawing the line appears to have Florida origins. Three Florida legislators are running a similar ad against a Florida voter initiative. We don’t need Florida outsiders telling us what to do!
Idaho voters should vote for Prop 1 to repeal the total abortion ban that has sent many Idaho women to Utah to get life-saving care that is simply unavailable in Idaho. That will clean the slate so that the Legislature can debate and enact reasonable abortion restrictions.