Nonini: Abortion should be illegal, but not capital crime

COEUR d’ALENE — Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, pushed back Tuesday on an Associated Press story that claimed he would seek the death penalty for women who sought abortions, in the event that abortion was outlawed. In a statement late Tuesday Nonini said, “I NEVER said or agreed that the death penalty should be an option during the Monday debate at the Nuart Theater.”

Nonini’s comments came at an Idaho lieutenant governor candidates forum hosted by CrossPolitic podcast hosts Chocolate Knox, Gabriel Rench, and the Rev. Toby Sumpter at the Nuart Theater in Moscow. Along with their own questions, the hosts posed questions submitted by viewers on Facebook.

One Facebook question inquired if Nonini was willing to criminalize abortion, or have a woman face the death penalty for abortion. Nonini responded, “Yes. There should be no abortion and anyone who has an abortion should pay.”

Not satisfied with affirming that it should be criminalized, the forum hosts pressed for clarification about whether abortion should incur the death penalty. After Nonini only uttered a noncommittal “umm” one host suggested case law be applied. At that point, Nonini nodded affirmatively and said, “based on the case law.”

According to Nolo’s Plain English Law Dictionary, case law is “The law based on judicial opinions (including decisions that interpret statutes), as opposed to law based on statutes, regulations, or other sources. Also refers to the collection of reported judicial decisions within a particular jurisdiction dealing with a specific issue or topic.”

While discussing abortion, Nonini and his fellow Republican lieutenant governor candidates Steve Yates and Janice McGeachin agreed that abortion is murder, with Yates saying he had no problem criminalizing the act.

“I have always been a pro-life supporter. That means classifying abortion as murder. Since abortion is murder, I believe we should consider penalties for individuals involved in these procedures,” wrote Nonini Tuesday.

However, Nonini, McGeachin, and Yates all stressed Monday that preventing abortion ultimately comes down to helping the unborn children, mothers, and fathers involved. In his statement Tuesday, Nonini claimed that states did not prosecute women for undergoing illegal abortions prior to Roe v. Wade, and that if abortion were once again illegal, he would not seek to prosecute women seeking abortions.

“Prosecutions have always been focused on the abortionist. There is no way a woman would go to jail let alone face the death penalty. The statute alone, the threat of prosecution, would dramatically reduce abortion. That is my goal,” Nonini said.

Kootenai County Democratic Party Chair Paula Neils said, “We respect a woman’s right to choose. This is a private decision. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. There should not be a penalty in whatever law is passed.”

Kootenai County Republican Party Chair Brent Regan declined to comment for this story.

Nonini is a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor who has served four terms in the Idaho House and three terms in the Idaho Senate. He faces four other candidates in the May 15 Republican primary election.

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Associated Press reporter Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this report.