Abortion Bills Expected To Clear The House But It’s Possible That The Full Senate Won’t Get A Chance To Vote On Them

It’s almost certain that one or more of the Idaho Legislature’s abortion bills will clear the House. But what will happen in the Senate is less clear, and it’s possible the full Senate never will get a chance to vote on the measures.

That has happened before with controversial legislation.

The last time the Legislature gave itself a hefty raise - in 1991 - a resolution rejecting the extra money was approved in the House, but the Senate State Affairs Committee refused to go along.

That way, only the members of the Republican and Democratic leadership who make up that committee had to take the heat. Other lawmakers were spared the politically embarrassing prospect of having to go on record for the pay increase or go without the money.

After about five hours of hearings this past week, the House State Affairs Committee endorsed two abortion bills being pushed by the religious right.

Only four of the 21 committee members opposed the first and only five objected to the second.

A third bill requiring a minor to obtain parental consent before having an abortion likely will be approved by the committee today. Its sponsor, House Speaker Michael Simpson, wants the GOP congressional nomination in the conservative 2nd District and worked out the bill with the Idaho Christian Coalition.

Few think the House will reject any of the bills brought to a vote in the first major legislative debate on abortion since 1990. It is an easy vote for House members because they know the Senate is still there to stop any or all of the measures.

President Pro Tem Jerry Twiggs has said for months that the Senate won’t consider abortion bills this session unless a need for new laws is demonstrated.

Until recently, Twiggs had received few letters and phone calls from the public about abortion. In recent days, however, he has been showered with messages from both sides on the highly emotional issue. Many were form letters.

“That doesn’t really convince me that there’s a whole group out there demanding this,” Twiggs said. “Have the people in my district asked me to come over here and do something about abortions? No.”

That view was bolstered by a poll released last week by Boise State University. It indicated that of the issues of top importance to Idaho residents, abortion was listed by only one-third of 1 percent.

Idaho Falls Republican Sen. John Hansen, chairman of the leadership-dominated State Affairs Committee, said he isn’t going to give the abortion bills high priority, another signal that any legislation cleared by the House will be buried in his committee.

Besides the emotion generated over abortion, there’s the money.

One abortion opponent mentioned during the House hearings that the real goal is a bill that could be pushed to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of overturning or weakening restrictions in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.

When asked who would pay for that, he said the state would be expected to defend its law.

But that can be expensive, and the issues won’t be decided soon. Utah passed a tough abortion law in 1991. It wasn’t until last year that the Supreme Court rejected the last remaining segment of that law as being too restrictive on abortions.

As of a year ago, Utah officials estimated they had spent more than $1 million defending the 1991 law.

Mike Schwarzkopf of the American Civil Liberties Union blamed “election-year politics” for putting abortion back on the Idaho legislative agenda.

It hasn’t been lost on the candidates hoping to succeed U.S. Rep. Michael Crapo in the 2nd Congressional District that the religious right has been a significant factor in recent elections, particularly the primaries.

U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth drew heavily from that bloc for her victories in the last two 1st Congressional District elections.

Nor is it any coincidence that Simpson is co-sponsoring the Idaho Christian Coalition bill, congressional contender Rep. Mark Stubbs of Twin Falls wanted to sponsor the Idaho Family Forum bill and Stan Hawkins of Ucon has been among the most vocal anti-abortion members of the state Senate.

But Twiggs says the Senate will pass abortion restrictions only if they can be shown both to be needed and to be good public policy.

“We won’t do anything just to advance anybody’s bid for public office,” he said.