Two Idaho gubernatorial candidates – Democrat Terri Pickens and independent John Stegner – said they would champion a ballot initiative that would end Idaho’s abortion ban if voters approve it at the polls in November’s general election.
A gubernatorial candidate from the Constitution Party who legally changed his name to Pro-Life said he would work to block or undue the initiative if voters approve it.
Republican incumbent Gov. Brad Little and Libertarian Party candidate Paul Sand could not be reached for comment.
On Nov. 3, the same day Idahoans will vote for governor and a slate of other political candidates across the state, voters will decide whether to pass the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act. If a majority of voters approve the ballot initiative, it would legalize a right to an abortion until the point of fetal viability and in cases of emergency.
Supporters say the initiative’s passage would restore the same standard that had been in place in Idaho until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
Pickens, Stegner outline support for Idaho initiative that would end Idaho’s strict abortion ban
Pickens, an attorney who owns her own law firm, said restoring reproductive rights is one of her top issues as a candidate.
“I absolutely 100% support the ballot initiative,” Pickens said in an interview July 15. “I’m 54 today, and for 50 of those 54 years I had fundamental freedoms of bodily autonomy. My 22-year-old daughter no longer does in Idaho. So the ballot initiative is really to restore reproductive freedom and privacy.
“The privacy aspect also deals with contraception, protecting IVF,” Pickens said. “So across the board, what it is telling the government is to stay out of our doctors’ offices, stay out of the medical decisions that we make that control our own bodies.”
Stegner, a retired Idaho Supreme Court justice who served as a judge for 25 years, said he thinks the initiative will pass and he would strongly defend it as governor.
“If it succeeds in the way that it’s polling right now, it will undo what I think are 19th century laws and move us rapidly into the 21st century,” Stenger said in a July 10 interview. “And I think that’s what the governor (Little) should have been talking about and wasn’t and didn’t. And if the initiative passes, I would be a fervent supporter of ensuring that that is the law because I think that’s what the people of Idaho want.”
The candidate who changed his name to Pro-Life said he considers abortion to be murder and he would work with the Idaho Legislature to block the initiative.
“I would do everything in my power; I would not allow that to be initiated,” Pro-Life said. “I would go to the Legislature immediately and tell them that they have the power to override a ballot initiative that the voters had voted on. And even if they had to have a special session, I would not allow it to become implemented.”
In 2020, Little signed into law Senate Bill 1385, which made performing an abortion a crime in almost every case except to save the life of the mother.
Before the vote, many Idaho Republicans calling for repealing ballot initiative
Even if voters pass the ballot initiative, there is nothing stopping the Idaho Legislature from immediately passing a bill to undo the initiative.
Sixteen Republican legislative candidates running for office in the general election, including several incumbents, have already said they would vote to repeal the ballot initiative if voters approve it.
Those GOP legislative candidates are: Scott Herndon, Jane Sauter, Cornel Rasor, Vito Barbieri, Elaine Price, Cindy Carlson, Kyle Harris, Colton Bennett, Christy Zito, Judy Boyle, Camille Blaylock, Kent Marmon, Jeff Cornilles, Jaron Crane, Steve Tanner and Clint Hostetler.
Additionally, the Idaho Republican Party also approved a resolution during its convention earlier this summer calling on the Idaho Legislature to repeal the ballot initiative if it passes.
Stegner said he would try to stop the Idaho Legislature from undoing the ballot initiative if it passes.
“I would be prepared to veto any efforts by the Legislature to change or limit what the people have done through the initiative process,” Stegner said. “I think it’s a very bad message to send to the electorate that the Legislature thinks it knows better than the public does when dealing with serious problems.”
“ … To the extent that the Legislature chose to override that veto,” Stegner continued, “I would work diligently to unseat any legislator who voted to override that veto.”
Pickens also said she would fight any effort by the Idaho Legislature to repeal the ballot initiative.
“I firmly believe that the will of the people matters,” Pickens said. “And if the people come out and vote ‘yes’ to restore bodily autonomy and the Idaho legislators think that they know better than the Idaho people, I will be at the Statehouse every single day, reminding them that they don’t get to touch the will of the people. And I’ll go a step further and start proposing a constitutional amendment, so when a ballot initiative is passed they can’t just undo it at their whim.”
The general election is set for Nov. 3. In addition to the governor’s race and the ballot initiative to end Idaho’s abortion ban, all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature will be up for election in November’s general election, as well as three of Idaho’s four congressional seats.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.