PROP 1: Restores safe health care for women

Proposition One (the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act) is not just about permitting abortions. It is about restoring safe health care for women of reproductive age who are being denied services because of Idaho’s severely restrictive laws. 

I hope that everyone reading this realizes that 39% of the OB/GYN physicians have left this state because they don’t feel they can practice safe medicine with the current laws surrounding ending a pregnancy. That means that many women in northern and southern Idaho must drive hours, sometimes out of state, to get to even simple gynecological care. Our current laws can punish obstetricians with prison or loss of license for performing life saving pregnancy ending procedures if the need for that care does’t meet certain rigid criteria. 

Voting yes on Proposition One means restoring our state to a sane and safe standard of reproductive care which allows decisions to be made in a private conversation between patients and their chosen provider WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.

Please take the time to read the Proposition yourself. Do not rely on the misinformation being disseminated by opponents of this initiative. The initiative can be read in its entirety by going to https://unitedforyes.com/prop-1-full-text. Be informed with the truth before making your decision on this important issue!

J. ROYE ELY, MSN, ARNP

Coeur d’Alene