RELEASE: Rep. Tanner: Idaho Can Lead the Nation in Defending the Unborn

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bjorn Handeen

Last week I attended a conference in Coeur d’Alene hosted by an organization named Live Action. Live Action advocates for the abolishment of abortion, which I think is one of the true human rights causes of our time. Just as the civil rights movement of the 1960s demanded our nation live up to its founding principles, the pro-life movement calls for us to protect the rights of the most vulnerable among us: the unborn.

Advocating for the personhood of the unborn demands that they be protected under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Human fetuses are human. They are human life from the moment of conception. Each one is created in the image of God. They are people in the same sense as a one-day-old baby. Each one deserves all the legal protections under the law as everyone else. They are not to be thought of as “less than” a person because they have not been born yet.

As a Christian conservative presently serving in the Idaho House of Representatives, I believe that we need to speak and to project a culture of life. For the last 100-plus years, our culture has been saturated by the pro-abortionists’ claim that fetuses are just a clump of cells and that because they are unborn, women should be able to abort their fetuses when having a child is inconvenient or unplanned. In fact, we need to proclaim that the abortion of every unborn child is nothing short of the taking of an innocent human life that has been created in the image of God, even those children conceived by rape and incest. I’ve met people who were conceived in those circumstances, and they too deserve the same human rights enjoyed by the rest of us.

Of course, I do not mean to condemn any woman who has had an abortion. Many women have been misled or felt they had no other choice, and many suffer deeply in the aftermath. There is healing, there is hope, and there is forgiveness through the grace of Jesus Christ. We must offer compassion and help build a culture that supports both mother and child.

I want to add that I am thankful that SB1046 was passed and signed into law this year (2025). This bill requires that human development in utero be taught in public schools whenever health, reproduction education, or sexually transmitted disease education are taught. For example, the Baby Olivia film developed by Live Action shows the development of a fetus from conception to birth. It is highly effective in countering the narrative that unborn fetuses are just a “clump of cells.” I think that another impact this film will have is that young women may begin to think differently about having sex. Perhaps they will consider abstinence. Perhaps they will begin to think differently about the kind of partner they want. Will he be responsible to the baby? Will he demand or push toward an abortion? Or will he just walk away?

Our culture is at a turning point. Idaho has the opportunity to show the rest of the country that protecting life is a human rights issue. Every unborn child is a person with inherent dignity, and Idaho law should recognize and defend that truth. I’ll keep standing for the unborn, without apology and without backing down.

If you believe every child deserves a chance, I hope you’ll stand with me.

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About State Representative Steve Tanner
Steve Tanner, the son of a WWII Navy corpsman, grew up in a proud military family stationed around the world. He holds a B.A. from California State University, Long Beach, a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and is pursuing a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Liberty University.

A former pastor and experienced data analyst, Steve moved with his family to Idaho in 2016 seeking the freedoms lost in California. He serves as a precinct committeeman and Republican Party secretary for Legislative District 13, where he has led grassroots efforts against CRT, SEL, and costly tax increases.

A proud Platform Republican, Steve has signed the pledge to uphold the Idaho GOP platform and consistently votes according to its principles. Now seeking re-election to the Idaho House in District 13B, he remains committed to restoring trust in government, defending parental rights, and standing for Idaho families without compromise.