INSIDE MY TURN - The many problems of forced births

How do you feel when someone keeps something from you until it is too late to do anything about it? You feel angry, powerless and manipulated.

What motivating force drives this terrible behavior? The most recent case in point is Idaho’s new anti-abortion or forced birth law. It sailed through the House and Senate before most of us knew it was being considered.

Idaho is a Republican state. Most people vote “R” straight down the ballot, believing that the elected representatives in Boise speak for them. So why do you think this legislation was made public after the House vote and then zipped right through the Senate in a matter of days? It appears the Idaho Legislature doesn’t trust Republican voters. It turns out, there is a great deal they don’t want you to know.

Idaho’s infants currently have lower birth weights and higher death rates than the national average. State agencies receive 23,000 calls about suspected child abuse each year and have identified 2,000 documented child abuse victims. How many more children will suffer poor health and death because their birth was forced? Is the inability of Idaho to provide proper health care and safety pro-life?

The key talking point is that Republicans are protecting the unborn, giving them the “Right to Life.” I won’t debate here when viable life begins, but science and politics do not agree.

I wonder what God would say when after the law requires a birth, we then abandon the child. 400,000 children are in the foster care system nationwide. Idaho has identified 3,200 children as needing out-of-home care. Basic foster care costs the state between $140,000 to $290,000 a year per child (based on per diem by age).

In the past year, 1,600 more Idaho children needed foster care. The cost to Idaho taxpayers is between $224 million and $464 million a year! That does not include increases caused by the forced birth law.

This year Idaho was short about 450 foster homes. Some children have nowhere to go. So the forced birth law could easily cost taxpayers millions of dollars more and complicate the fact that we can’t or won’t care for the children we have right now.

Last year, the Idaho Legislature turned down $6 million that would have helped families with child care because “mothers should stay home and care for the children.” What if a parent dies, or becomes disabled or one parent has abandoned the family? In 2019, 13% of Idaho children lived in poverty. Where was the Right to Life in the decision to vote no for child care funds?

This law is intended to punish the poor and powerless, because wealthy women could always pay for abortion. Middle class women can afford to leave the state. It is the women without support, with issues of poverty and abuse that are the targets of this legislation. This law is intended to single out women; men are not held responsible for their behavior. Idaho already has difficulty caring for children, how will we care for those forced to be born?

So, Republicans have decided to victimize women who are struggling to continue a political agenda, a voting issue that began with Jerry Falwell. Political research said it could be a fundraiser. The Legislature couldn’t possibly share the facts about families and babies in this state, because it might just influence your opinion. They just couldn’t risk voters thinking and making a decision for themselves. That might cost them power and control. Think about that when you vote.

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Barbara Ostipwko is a resident of Coeur d'Alene.