October 21, 2026
A Promise Kept: What the Mormon Land Podcast Got Wrong About Prop 1
By: Julianne Young
In 2024, I met with Dr. Heather Pugmire. A Latter-day Saint OB-GYN in southeast Idaho, she worried that difficult medical decisions could result in lawsuits.
I understood her concern and committed to address it.
I kept my promise. Dozens of hours were invested, and in 2025, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1171, written specifically to address her concerns. It created a firewall between doctors and frivolous lawsuits, allowing any physician sued under Idaho’s Pro-life Law to ask a judge to throw the case out. Unless the plaintiff can show a violation upfront, the suit is dismissed, and the winning side recovers attorney’s fees.
The bill passed the Senate 32-1 and the House 64-3. Dr. Pugmire submitted testimony in support.
So I was surprised to hear her on the Salt Lake Tribune’s Mormon Land podcast last week telling listeners that legislators “have been unable or unwilling” to address concerns. S 1171 was never mentioned.
Ironically, the podcast’s theme was fear. Fear is real. But it’s not the result of Idaho’s Pro-life Law. It comes from ignorance of what the law says and does.
Before Dr. Pugmire said a word, the host characterized the Church’s statement opposing Proposition 1 as “brief,” its signers “all men” who “did not get into the debates,” not-so-subtly discrediting the Church. But church leaders do not weigh in on ballot measures lightly, and the Church backed its statement with a $1 million contribution.
Pugmire then claimed that Idaho’s initial law “didn’t include miscarriage or ectopic” care. The truth: within months of its enactment, the Idaho Supreme Court confirmed that treating ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages was never prohibited by Idaho’s Pro-life Law. Within weeks, the Legislature added clarifying language to this effect.
Pugmire characterized Idaho’s life exception as “a very hard line.” But the Idaho Supreme Court called it “a subjective standard,” giving deference to “the particular physician’s judgment” and requiring no “particular level of immediacy.” A 2025 Idaho court ruled that it applies to any “non-negligible risk” of death, “neither imminent nor assured.”
Pugmire described a patient whose water broke at 14 weeks, followed by two hours spent calling her lawyer, her hospital CEO, and three other doctors before taking action. But the 2025 court opinion named this exact condition as one where doctors may act. No law required those calls. Lack of understanding did.
Pugmire suggested that Idaho trusts doctors’ “good faith judgment” but not judgment about what “health” means. Laws are not written for conscientious actors. They are written to encompass those eager to perform abortions. In Roe’s companion case, the Supreme Court defined “health” to include emotional, psychological and family factors, and limits on convenience abortions effectively vanished. Idaho draws the line at life-threatening health concerns precisely so limits on convenience abortions cannot be erased.
Listeners heard that recruiting is impossible and that medical students Pugmire teaches “don’t expect to come back.” Dr. Josh Stringham, who also trains residents, recently told a forum audience exactly the opposite: four obstetric providers have joined Idaho Falls since 2022, and the one who left did so for family reasons. Statewide, active OB-GYN licenses rose 20% from 2022 to 2024. A national peer-reviewed study found pro-life states had a slightly greater increase in OB-GYNs than pro-abortion states.
By her own account, Dr. Pugmire wants narrow changes. And she says, “I don’t like that Prop 1 allows all abortions up to viability. That I am opposed to.”
Yet, the hard cases she cites are already covered. Prop 1’s contribution is to legalize the very thing she opposes.
Pugmire minimized Prop 1 as a “wake-up call” and claimed it “won’t become the law.” Not true. Voters legislate through the initiative process. If passed, Prop 1 becomes law before the legislature convenes. Voting for the thing you are against is no way to send a message that you want something else.
Instead of a sweeping initiative, narrow concerns should be dealt with legislatively. S 1171 completely undercuts claims that legislators don’t care.
Dr. Pugmire has cared for many of my friends and is an excellent and compassionate physician. However, that doesn’t mean voters should trust those providing her poor legal advice.
Dr. Pugmire closed with: “We want healthy moms and babies.” I agree. Under Idaho’s Pro-life Law, pregnancy-related maternal deaths have fallen from 18.7 to 4.29 per 100,000 live births. Idaho can and does protect both.
In 2024, I made a promise and then kept it. On November 3, Idaho voters can keep a promise too.
Defend life. Vote no on Prop 1.
Julianne Young is a Bingham County Mom who loves faith, family, and freedom; a former state representative; founder of the nonprofit Idaho Family Strong; regional coordinator for Idaho Chooses Life; and 2nd Vice Chair of the Idaho State GOP.
