Ballot Initiative to Enshrine the Right to Abortion into the Idaho State Constitution Touts 50K Signatures
The group behind a proposed ballot initiative that would scrap Idaho’s pro-life law and enshrine the right to abortion into the state constitution says they have gathered more than 50,000 signatures out of the nearly 71,000 needed to qualify.
Idahoans United for Women and Families is hoping to get enough signatures to qualify in time for the November 2026 election, where a majority of voters would need to approve of the measure for it to pass, the Idaho Capital Sun reported Tuesday.
“Crossing the 50,000 signature threshold is both a celebration and a clear signal that Idahoans want their voices heard,” Idahoans United for Women and Families’ Executive Director Melanie Folwell said in a statement. “Every signature is a reminder that these decisions belong with patients and their doctors, not with politicians.”
The group is set to host its largest signature-gathering effort yet on Saturday with small businesses across the state, according to the report.
In Idaho, abortions are outlawed except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.
Ballot measures are particularly effective as an offensive weapon because they are basically irreversible — they change a state constitution, take precedence over laws passed by state legislatures, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure or lengthy legal battles. Abortion measures have typically been propped up by left-wing organizations and affiliates with deep pockets — such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU — out-of-state dark money groups, and billionaires with eugenicist leanings, oftentimes outspending pro-life organizations by double or triple.
Almost every pro-abortion-related ballot measure since the fall of Roe v. Wade has been successful. During the 2022 special elections, Kansans rejected a ballot measure that would have established that the state Constitution does not include a right to abortion. During the 2022 midterms, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont codified abortion into their Constitutions. At the same time, voters in Montana rejected a ballot measure that would have given rights to babies born alive in botched abortions. Voters in Kentucky also rejected an amendment similar to the one in Kansas. In November 2023, Ohioans voted to codify the supposed right to abortion in their state Constitution via Issue 1.
In November 2024, seven states voted in favor of pro-abortion measures, while three states rejected them, breaking the left’s winning streak. The states that rejected abortion measures last year include Florida, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
