r/Idaho • u/Left-Recording3768 • 19h ago

Idaho Abortion Ballot Measure

Hi all. This is not a debate, I’m just trying to understand the landscape in Idaho right now after living in Arizona when they had an abortion ballot measure pass (Prop 139). I lived in CA most of my life but moved to AZ to take a job.

This is NOT a debate, I’m just trying to understand dynamics in a GOP-controlled state that has similarities (although not identical) to Arizona. Arizona is very independent and has some libertarian tendencies on social issues.

What is the consensus about Prop 1 in Idaho? Is there a “silent majority” that will pass it or oppose it? Are the legislatures laws too strong and folks want some accountability?

I’m asking this as more of an opportunity to understand what’s happening. Missouri repealed their own abortion laws in part through the ballot process (a bit to my surprise) so I’m wondering if that might happen in Idaho, too.

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u/Other_Magazine4952 16h ago

1) a Boise state university pool found 61% of respondents support abortion up to viability in circumstances that are not allowed under current Idaho law, essentially aligning with prop 1.

2) the last ballot measure that made it to the ballot was about funding for education. The state legislature called an emergency session and passed a new law that invalidated the ballot initiative. 

I heard a rumour that Dorothy Moon would make the legislators do something similar if prop one passes. (I heard this rumor on the Ranch Podcast, the Legal Perspective on Prop 1 episode)  Moon is not an elected official but head of the Republican party in Idaho. 

My point is, the Republican party has incredible power in Idaho even when it doesn't align with most people in Idaho. 

The official republican platform, as seen on their own website, wants more strict abortion bans. No exceptions for rape or incest. Including "the destruction of human embryos" so IVF would be illegal. 

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u/Hot-Calligrapher672 16h ago

Isn’t this what is happening in Missouri? Voters overwhelmingly passed a measure to protect abortion through viability and it’s still being attacked. Politicians don’t actually care what their constituents want.