RELEASE: 59 Idaho Physicians Sign Open Letter Opposing Proposition 1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Doctors Rebut “Vote Yes” Campaign’s TV Ad, Say Idaho Law Already Lets Them Provide Emergency Care

BOISE, Idaho — Fifty-nine Idaho physicians today released an open letter urging voters to reject Proposition 1, warning that the measure would legalize late-term abortion, strip parents of consent rights for minors, and allow non-physicians to perform abortions.

The letter directly challenges the central claim of the television ad the “Vote Yes” campaign is currently airing statewide, which tells voters that Idaho’s abortion law “has no real exceptions” and that doctors’ “hands are tied” in medical emergencies.

“That is false,” the physicians write. “Idaho law explicitly allows abortion when a physician, in their good-faith medical judgment, determines it is necessary to prevent the mother’s death — including in cases of ectopic pregnancy and placental abruption. The Idaho Supreme Court has affirmed the wide latitude given to physicians. No doctor has been prosecuted for providing such care.”

The signers also dispute the campaign’s narrative that Idaho’s abortion laws drove physicians out of the state, pointing to Idaho Board of Medicine data showing the number of licensed OB/GYNs has risen roughly 20% since the laws took effect in 2022, and that maternal mortality in Idaho has fallen since then to well below the national average.

Beyond correcting the record on current law, the letter warns that Proposition 1’s text — not its campaign messaging — would go far beyond the “common sense exceptions” proponents describe:

1. It would redefine “fetal viability” to exclude a baby who needs extra neonatal support such as oxygen and NICU care, opening the door to abortion into the eighth month of pregnancy.
2. It would eliminate parental notice and consent for minors seeking abortion, making abortion the only medical procedure a minor could undergo without a parent’s consent.
3. It would remove the requirement that a physician perform the procedure, permitting any “licensed health care provider” to do so.

“Proposition 1 is extreme, deceptive, and medically unsafe,” the physicians conclude. “It does not protect women; it endangers them and strips parents of their rights while expanding late-term abortion.”

The letter was signed by dozens of physicians from all across the state of Idaho, including obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYNs), neonatologists (NICU specialists), pediatricians, pediatric hospitalists, family practitioners and more who strongly urge the citizens of Idaho to vote NO on Prop 1. The full letter and list of signatories is available at this link, and physicians opposed to Prop 1 can add their names by emailing [email protected].

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The Gem State Chronicle brings you news and analysis that empowers you to make positive change in Idaho. Established 2022.

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