Editor’s Note: This story was written and edited by KHOL and Teton Valley News.
Idahoans voted to uphold one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Prop. 1’s failure keeps the near-total abortion ban that was triggered in 2022 after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Despite pushes from one of the state’s few blue-leaning pockets, 66% of Teton County, Idaho, voters supported overturning the ban. Statewide, 55% voted against the proposition.
As it stands, Idaho’s ban prohibits abortion except to prevent a pregnant woman’s death, or in the first trimester in reported cases of rape or incest. Performing an abortion outside those exceptions is a felony punishable by two to five years in prison.
Starting in December, Teton Valley organizers worked with Idahoans United to gather enough signatures to put the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act on the ballot.
On Tuesday evening, locals rallied at the lone Victor streetlight well after sunset.
“We don’t have an OB-GYN that practices regularly in this valley and we have lost providers,” said Teton County, Idaho, voter Elizabeth, who asked to not give her last name, citing safety concerns. “And I think the ban has made it harder.”
Having given birth before and after the ban, she described changes in access and care after abortion legislation went to the states in 2022.
“In my experience, it was hard for me to find a provider the second time in 2023,” Elizabeth said. “There are so many hurdles to rural health care.”
Since going into effect, the state has seen a dramatic exodus of OB-GYN and maternal health providers. According to a study published in JAMA, 43% of the state’s obstetricians have left Idaho or their positions two years post-Dobbs.
Teton-area organizers spent months on overturn attempt
The grassroots campaign made up of nearly 1,200 volunteers across the state collected 107,000 signatures, about 30,000 more than needed, to get the initiative on the ballot.
Door-knockers made regular home visits from summer through election day. They also held a party at the Wildwood Room in Victor in early October, encouraging people to vote and educate themselves on the initiative.
In the days leading up to the election, a failed court injunction allowed Idaho to continue enforcing its near-total ban, with an appeals process expected to wrap up early next year. The Oct. 30 federal appeals court ruling means Idaho is blocked from an additional exception in cases where self-harm or the health of a mother is at risk. Previously, the only exception had been to prevent the death of a mother, or in reported cases of rape or incest. That will remain law after the midterm vote.
Limited care could continue
Residents at the polls said cost-of-living pressures have also contributed to a drop in local providers, not just the near-total abortion ban.
Teton Valley Health in Driggs has not delivered babies since 2008, when it was no longer financially feasible. Rural hospitals that offer maternity and women’s healthcare often take on financial losses, according to Chief Financial Officer Mitch Watson at St. John’s Health in Jackson, Wyoming. Limited healthcare options, as a result, have forced many women in Teton Valley to seek care in Idaho Falls or Jackson.
Another Teton Valley woman, who declined to give her last name, has driven the steep Teton Pass to give birth or access prenatal healthcare. Like most voters in Teton Valley, Steph also voted for the proposition.
After also driving to Colorado for healthcare, during a “really awful and stressful situation,” the reality of being pregnant in Idaho set in for the environmental consultant.
“[It] really opened my eyes to how limited our healthcare is,” she said.
Currently, Teton Valley Healthcare offers an annual gynecology appointment under its physicians practicing family medicine. Free diapers and baby food available through the Teton Valley Food Pantry serve as additional alternative avenues for family support.
Many of those who wanted to keep Idaho’s ban said they believed in a baby’s right to life.
“It sounds harsh, but it’s the way that I feel about it,” said Mary, who also asked to give only her first name. “I am voting no because I don’t believe in murder. And that’s what abortion, to me, is.”
