Planned Parenthood Plans a Rally in Idaho as Idaho Lawmakers/Groups React to Leaked Document

Planned Parenthood is planning a rally at the Idaho capitol on May 14.

The rally is set to take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. MT. The goal the group says is to send a message that “abortion care IS health care.”

The rally was announced after a document leaked to Politico from the United States Supreme Court indicates that Roe v Wade may soon be overturned.

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The document was verified as authentic by Justice John Roberts. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion that was leaked to the public on Monday.

Politicians and political organizations in Idaho have been releasing statements about the opinion from Alito that could indicate the majority opinion is coming soon.

For Idaho’s Congressional delegation, Senators Risch and Crapo released statements on social media. Risch wrote a statement saying,

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The most basic right we as humans have is the right to life. Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, and correcting that mistake is the right thing to do. This leaked Supreme Court draft opinion is only a draft, and the contours of the ruling may change. No ruling is final until it is published by the Court.

I will reserve further comment until the Supreme Court hands down its final, official ruling.

Crapo posted a series of tweets, stating,

States should have the ability to protect the right to life and the rights of the unborn. The deliberate leak of a draft opinion is a brazen attempt to intimidate Supreme Court justices into ignoring the rule of law and undermines the institution of the Court.

The Supreme Court must remain independent from political pressure tactics when issuing its final decision.

Congressman Russ Fulcher and Congressman Mike Simpson have not released statements on the issue at this time.

The Idaho Democrat Party Chair Lauren Necochea released a statement criticizing Alito’s opinion. They posted the following on social media,

Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement in response to reporting that the Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade:

“Like many Idahoans, I am appalled to see reports that the Supreme Court is overturning Roe v. Wade. Idaho is one of 13 states nationwide with a ‘trigger law’ designed to go into effect if Roe is overturned. If this happens, the reproductive rights and fundamental freedoms of Idahoans will immediately be dismantled and stripped away.

Idaho’s Republican lawmakers have introduced increasingly cruel and extreme forced pregnancy and birth legislation including state-mandated transvaginal ultrasounds, cash bounties for the families of rapists, and even first-degree murder charges—punishable by up to life in prison, and in some cases, the death penalty—for patients and their doctors.

For 50 years Idahoans have had the protection of Roe blocking the most radical urges of the Republican supermajority from becoming reality. The Roe ruling is the only thing that has prevented Idaho’s Republicans lawmakers from eliminating access to safe, legal abortions and privacy to make health care decisions in consultation with loved ones and medical professionals—free of overreach from the state or federal government.

In my lifetime, these rights have never been more uncertain. But let me be clear: Idaho Democrats will continue to fight for the reproductive rights and freedoms of all Idahoans for as long as it takes. We will stand with the majority of Idahoans who believe people should have access to all of the reproductive health care options available, including abortion.

This November, personal freedom, bodily autonomy, and health care will be on the ballot. The only way to protect these rights is to vote for Democrats at the local, state, and federal level.”

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The Idaho Republican Party, Libertarian Party of Idaho, and the Constitution Party of Idaho have not released a statement at the time of this writing.

Leadership for the Idaho House and Senate Democrats did release a statement on the leaked document. Here is what they posted:

Idaho State Capitol – Leaked documents on Monday indicate that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is potentially poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, stripping millions of their constitutionally protected right to abortion access.

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel stated this morning, “The right to make personal medical decisions about our reproductive health care has stood in well-established law for 50 years. For nearly three generations, the law of the land has protected the right to privacy between a patient and their physician, keeping politicians out of the exam room. To dismantle this constitutional right to bodily autonomy goes against what the vast, vast majority of Americans want and expect.”

In fact, support for upholding Roe v. Wade is broad, even in majority Republican states like Idaho. A 2019 poll found that a bipartisan majority of Idahoans did not support overturning Roe v. Wade, 65% believing it is important that women in Idaho have access to all of the reproductive health care options available, including abortion. Nationally, that number rises to 80%.

Senator Melissa Wintrow said late Monday night, “This will have especially dangerous consequences for the women and girls living in states like Idaho, where the only thing standing between them and forced pregnancy and birth is the constitutional protection of Roe v. Wade. I am thinking about the testimony I’ve borne witness to, the testimony from rape survivors, from survivors of incest, who will have no protections in our state should Roe be overturned.

“There are hundreds-likely thousands-of reasons an individual seeks out this safe, legal, medical procedure, but one thread unites them all: her choice. Dismantling national protection for this most essential component of bodily autonomy is breathtaking in both its senselessness and its cruelty. Americans know that. Idahoans know that.”

We respect and understand that individuals may have personally held religious beliefs. But those religious beliefs may not be imposed on their fellow citizens. Idaho Democrats will zealously fight for fundamental constitutional rights and protections from governmental overreach such as this.

Added Representative James Ruchti, “The government has no business interfering in a personal medical decision between a woman and her doctor. No business. That’s not how we do things in Idaho.”

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At the time of this writing, none of the local pro-life groups in Idaho had released a public statement on the leaked document.