Idaho State GOP Says Abortion Should Be Illegal, Even When Used To Save a Woman’s Life

The Idaho Republican Party on Saturday amended its platform to oppose abortion in all instances, including as a life-saving procedure for a pregnant woman. The party platform now supports more restrictions on abortion than currently exist in any state law and declares abortion to be “murder from the moment of fertilization,” even when it is required to save a woman’s life.

Scott Herndon, a Bonner County resident running unopposed for the Idaho Senate, sponsored the platform amendment. “For the last 49 years we have essentially lost the argument in the culture because we have focused on abortion as the termination of a pregnancy and not the termination of a living human being,” Herndon said to fellow delegates, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. “We will never win this human rights issue, the greatest of our time, if we make allowances for the intentional killing of another human being.”

According to the Idaho Capital Sun, the party did, however, approve an amendment clarifying that miscarriages should not be subject to criminal penalties. However, language regarding miscarriage does not appear in the finished platform. Reason reached out to the Idaho GOP for confirmation but has not received a reply at the time of publication.

Contrary to Herndon’s position, the most strident pro-life activists have long argued that life-saving abortions are not actually abortions. “Abortion is not necessary to save a woman’s life,” reads an FAQ from the Life Institute. “Treatment for conditions arising in pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia or sepsis, are NOT abortions, even if the life of the baby is lost, as the intention is not to harm the baby.”

The Idaho GOP’s platform throws this reasoning out with the bath water. According to th