September 26, 2026
The Idaho Committee for Hippocratic Medicine has issued a resolution opposing Prop 1, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act. They explain their position on their website:
The Idaho Committee for Hippocratic Medicine believes that sound medical policy should honor the physician’s obligation to do no intentional harm, protect pregnant women and their children, maintain consistent standards of medical care across all specialties, respect parental rights in their minor children’s care, and distinguish between medically necessary interventions for life-threatening pregnancy complications and the intentional killing of any preborn child under the label of “reproductive healthcare.” The RFPA (“Proposition 1”) departs from all these fundamental principles; therefore, the Committee unequivocally opposes the measure.
The Resolution says:
WHEREAS, human beings share equal value and dignity regardless of age, stage of development, degree of dependency, or birth status; and
WHEREAS, the solemn duty of all healthcare professionals is to never intentionally harm or kill an innocent human being under their care; and
WHEREAS, in pregnancy care, it is always medically and ethically preferable to preserve the lives of both the mother and her child, and when delivery is necessary, deliver the child alive rather than intentionally causing the child’s death; and
WHEREAS, every successful abortion intentionally causes the baby’s death, as demonstrated by the fact that a “failed” abortion is one in which the baby survives; and
WHEREAS, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act (“Proposition 1”) would create a statutory right to abortion without restriction before viability; and
WHEREAS, the ambiguous “medical emergency” exception of Proposition 1 would permit abortion after viability, rather than requiring every reasonable effort to deliver the child alive and preserve the child’s life; and
WHEREAS, life-threatening pregnancy complications often require urgent intervention before viability, including delivery or separation of the mother and child, even when doing so may lead to the foreseeable but unintended death of the child; and
WHEREAS, Idaho’s Defense of Life Act, including Idaho Code §§ 18-604(1)(c) and 18-622(2)(a), does not criminalize physicians who use evidence-based medicine to save a pregnant mother’s life when serious complications arise; and
WHEREAS, the Defense of Life Act affords physicians broad discretion to treat a wide range of serious complications that threaten maternal life, including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), severe preeclampsia or eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, placental abruption, hemorrhage, uterine rupture, threatened sepsis, cardiac or pulmonary decompensation; and
WHEREAS, Proposition 1 would grant any pregnant minor in Idaho the right to undergo an elective abortion without parental knowledge or consent; and
WHEREAS, Proposition 1 would lower standards of care for pregnant women by eliminating Idaho’s physician-only requirement and allow nonphysicians to perform or prescribe elective abortions; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Idaho Committee for Hippocratic Medicine formally and publicly OPPOSES the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act (“Proposition 1”) and urges all Idahoans to vote NO on Proposition 1 in the November 3, 2026 General Election; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Idaho Committee for Hippocratic Medicine is qualified and ready to communicate this position publicly and to educate physicians, policymakers, healthcare professionals, medical organizations, and Idaho citizens of the substantial medical and ethical reasons for unequivocally opposing Proposition 1.
