Idaho voters will get to decide whether to restore abortion rights in the state this November.
The organization Idahoans United for Women & Families has gathered enough qualifying signatures from across the state in support of the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act ballot initiative. If passed, the law would allow abortions up to fetal viability and when the health of the mother is in danger.
“Put very simply, this law restores us to the standard that we had under Roe in Idaho for nearly five decades,” said Melanie Folwell, the director of the campaign.
Passed in 2022, Idaho’s ban prohibits most abortions, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is threatened. Under the law, women are not criminalized for receiving abortion care, in person or through a telehealth prescription, but in-state physicians can lose their license, face felony charges and up to five years in prison.
To make it on the ballot, an initiative must be signed by 6% of eligible voters, or about 70,000 people, and come from 18 of the state’s 35 legislative districts. In a press release, the organization said they gathered roughly 110,000 signatures over the last 10 months - “the largest signature tally ever gathered for a qualified initiative in state history,” their statement reads.
Folwell said they relied on the help of more than 1,200 unpaid volunteers.
“You really depend on the kindness of people,” she added, “[and] their willingness to step up and give up their evenings and give up their weekends and gather signatures when it's freezing or when it's boiling and in the wind and the rain and everything in between.”
Last Thursday, hundreds of volunteers, advocates and organizers gathered at the Capitol in Boise to drop off the signatures at Secretary of State Phil McGrane’s office for certification.
On Monday, Idahoans United for Women & Families announced the initiative qualified and will be on the November ballot.
