Idaho's Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act is drawing significant attention as advocates seek the signatures necessary to get the measure on the ballot.
Spearheaded by Idahoans United for Women and Families, the measure aims to bring Idaho reproductive rights back to a "Roe Standard" – in other words what they were before the Supreme Court reversed course on its Roe vs. Wade decision three years ago.
That standard includes the right to an abortion up to fetal viability, decriminalization in the event of a medical emergency, and the privacy for reproductive health decisions to remain between patient and doctor. It includes everything from IVF and vasectomies to birth control and abortion.
Those entitlements were removed when Idaho's controversial trigger law went into effect after the Supreme Court's decision. The law defines most abortions as criminal, which requires a sentence of between 2-5 years in prison. The only exceptions in the current ban are for reported rape or incest in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Besides immediate consequences for those seeking abortions, the law also led to a 22% reduction in OB-GYNs in the state, and fewer doctors overall.
Idaho's constitution allows for a citizen ballot initiative, in which a law can be added to the ballot when it gets signatures equivalent to 6% of eligible voters in at least 18 legislative districts – in this case 70,000.
City Cast Boise sat down with Melanie Falwell, the executive director of Idahoans United for Women and Families to talk more about the initiative and her efforts to get this new law passed. You can check out the full interview here.
