In an altogether tragic, yet unfortunately predictable turn of events, the leftist group Idahoans United for Women and Children obtained the necessary number of signatures to put the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act (RFPA) on the ballot in November 2026. We all now know it as Proposition 1 (Prop 1).
What does it say about the current state of Idaho that this radical measure made it on the ballot? To us, it says two things. First, Idaho is not as conservative as people are led to believe; and second, there are many voters who find themselves somewhere in the middle of issues like abortion when they hear words like โrape,โ โincest,โ or โlife of the mother.โ They donโt like abortionโฆ except in the aforementioned scenarios, so they signed the initiative, not realizing how truly radical it is.
We at Idaho Freedom Foundation believe every life is precious, regardless of the circumstances of conception, stage of development, or disability, and we support full abortion abolition; however, many in the Gem State do not feel the same. This may be why the language comprising Prop 1 is so vague and misleading in many regards. We are hearing alarming rhetoric from people who are misinformed about what the initiative actually does.
A big part of defeating Prop 1 is educating people on what it really does. Prop 1 is barely four pages, but it is remarkable just how much damage is done in so little text. There are five significant ways the text of Prop 1 would radically change Idaho law.
Hereโs your quick cheat-sheet of the truth. The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act would:
(See 39-803 Section 1, subsection 1). As a reminder, rights, as understood by the Founders, principally undergird all authority, legal understanding, and social structures in the United States. They understood rights are inherent entitlements individuals possess by virtue of being human. These are universal and granted by God, not government. Think LIFE, liberty, and property. Prop 1 would make killing a baby a right in Idaho.ย ย
In Section 1, subsection 1, a and b, the language specifies โEvery person has the right to reproductive freedom and privacyโฆโ and does not distinguish adults from minor children. This Act, therefore, could be applied to our minor children.
Section 1, subsection 6(e) states: โโFetal viabilityโ means the point in a pregnancy when in the good faith judgment an attending health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case known to the health care professional at the time, the fetus has a significant likelihood of sustained survival outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.โ
Because the stage of fetal viability is not specified, a medical professional may determine a baby in the womb is not viable until the point of birth. Additionally, a key language change appears in the final part of the last sentence. A child has โa significant likelihood of sustained survival outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measuresโ (bold added for emphasis). Fetal viability historically has been understood to be the point at which a baby can survive outside of the womb with medical intervention, even extraordinary intervention. Prop 1 changes the definition to require survivability without medical assistance.
Section 1 subsection 6(g) states, โโHealth care professionalโ means any person licensed, certified or registered by the state of Idaho to deliver health care.โ Soโฆ a dentist may perform an abortion? Or a podiatrist? I suppose we shouldnโt expect more specificity from a document continually stating, โpregnant patientโ rather than โpregnant woman.โ
Section 1, subsection 6(h) states, โโMedical emergencyโ means a physical medical condition that, on the basis of the attending physician's good faith clinical judgment, based on the facts known at the time, and determined on a case-by-case basis, complicates the physical medical condition of a pregnant patient as to warrant an abortion:
i. To protect a pregnant patient's life; or, ii. For which a delay may: 1. Place the health of the pregnant patient in serious jeopardy; 2. Cause serious impairment to a bodily function; or, 3. Cause serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.โ
This definition does not explain the severity of a medical emergency which would allow an abortion. Additionally, earlier this month, a federal judge claimed the Fourteenth Amendment protects a womanโs right to obtain an abortion when in a โmental health crisis.โ This would fall under the medical emergency exception even though there are zero guidelines on what constitutes a mental health crisis. Under these broad provisions, a medical professional has total authority to determine whether a child will be murdered. Judge, jury, and yes, executioner.
Finally, Prop 1 ends as all ballot measures and bills do, with a section stating: โThis act shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2027.โ
Forbid it, Almighty God.ย
Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your churches โ your priests, bishops, and pastors. Knock on doors, put up signs, donate money.
There are babies โ designed by our Creator, uniquely made, precious, created for a purpose โ whose lives literally depend on your actions moving forward on this issue.
William Wilberforce was one of the greatest fighters for morality in the face of decades-long opposition. He fought for the end of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Relentlessly. Tirelessly. Without reservation or apology. Day in and day out. Wilberforce fought for the vulnerable. He was tireless in the pursuit of truth. He was mocked, laughed at, hated, accused, threatened, and ostracized, but day after day, month after month, year after year, and yes, decade after decade, Wilberforce fought.
On the eve of the abolition of the slave trade, he famously stated, โLet it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.โ
Friends, let it not be said of us that we were silent when innocent babies needed us. Donโt let busyness, discomfort, or fear keep you silent.
Thousands of unborn babies have been killed in Idaho over the years due to abortion and their blood cries out. No more.
Do not be silent. They need us.
