Idaho voters reject abortion initiative as Virginians enshrine it in state constitution

In Idaho, voters narrowly rejected the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act Initiative, also known as Proposition 1, which would have established a right to abortion until fetal viability, with only some exceptions made afterward. The initiative defined viability as a fetus having “a significant likelihood of sustained survival outside of the uterus without extraordinary medical measures.” Fetal viability is typically considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks.

“The act supports a person’s right to reproductive freedom and privacy, protects the confidential nature of the patient-provider relationship, and secures a person’s right to make their own health care decisions without government interference,” the proposition stated.

The Republican-led state has had an outright ban on abortion since 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Only in cases of protecting the life of the mother is abortion legal.

As of Wednesday, with over 95 percent of the votes counted, the Idaho proposal had failed by a margin of 55.9 percent to 44.1 percent. The measure notably faced opposition from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are commonly known as Mormons, which has traditionally emphasized that it does not engage in political matters. Idaho has a large Mormon population.

Pro-life activists did not have the same success in Virginia, a state that has become increasingly far-left since the election of Governor Abigail Spanberger. Virginians approved a constitutional amendment establishing protections for abortion. The amendment protects abortion access during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, with certain exceptions in the third trimester.

The Virginia Constitution will now state that “every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.”

In 2025, roughly 41,000 abortions took place each month, according to the Society for Family Planning.