North Idaho group pushes proposal to outlaw abortion

Anti-abortion advocates in North Idaho said they are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would outlaw abortion in Idaho.

The Coeur d’Alene Press reported that Abolish Abortion Idaho, a grassroots citizen group, wants to change Idaho law to make people who perform or have an abortion face a penalty of first-degree murder. The petition would ban any exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s health is in danger.

Scott Herndon, an activist with the group, said supporters want Idaho to ignore federal law that recognizes a constitutional right to an abortion.

“If a woman faces the very real consequences of a first-degree murder penalty, we are confident it will act as a deterrent to abortion,” he said.

Herndon added that he was unsure of how many signatures he collected so far as of Friday.

Statewide ballot initiatives must have signatures from 6 percent of the total of those who voted in the last presidential election from 18 out of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Abolish Abortion Idaho must have at least 56,000 verified signatures to make it on the 2018 ballot.