Idaho Democrats mark Roe v. Wade anniversary with call for end to near-total abortion ban
EDITORS' NOTE: Local News 8 has reached out to the Idaho GOP leadership for a response to the Idaho Democratic legislator's joint statement and will update this story when we receive word back.
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — On the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Idaho Democratic legislators marked the date with a call to restore abortion access, reaffirmed their commitment to a 2026 ballot initiative aimed at ending the state’s near-total abortion ban.
In a joint statement released Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow and House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel argued that Idaho’s current laws have created a healthcare crisis, forcing patients to leave the state for care and causing a healthcare shortage in the Gem State.
“Idahoans value privacy, freedom, and responsibility. Our laws should reflect those values," the lawmakers stated. "Instead, these bans threaten physicians with criminal penalties and tie the hands of medical professionals when pregnant patients need urgent care."
The lawmakers continued by endorsing a ballot initiative, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, introduced in 2025 by Idahoans United for Women & Families.
A Shift Toward the Voters
The move to a ballot initiative marks a strategic shift for reproductive rights advocates in Idaho. By bypassing the Republican-controlled Legislature, Democrats hope to let voters directly decide on "reasonable standards" for reproductive healthcare.
“We will keep fighting in the Legislature, in our communities, and at the ballot box until every Idahoan can make their own reproductive health decisions without fear, delay, or political interference," concludes the lawmaker's statement.
Senate Bill 1385: Idaho's Trigger Law
Idaho’s abortion ban, Senate Bill 1385, passed in 2020 and went into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe.
The law makes performing an abortion a felony, with exceptions for situations when the life of the mother is at risk or in reported cases of rape or incest. While the Biden administration previously challenged the law under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), the lawsuit was dismissed by the Trump administration in early 2025.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador praised the dismissal, stating, "We are grateful that meddlesome DOJ litigation on this issue will no longer be an obstacle to Idaho enforcing its laws."
The End of Roe.
The current legal battle follows the controversial and sweeping 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade in a 5-4 vote.
In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito declared that Roe was "egregiously wrong from the start," arguing that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. In a joint dissenting opinion, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan wrote that the decision stripped away "a fundamental constitutional protection" from millions of American women.
Nearly four years after that ruling, Idaho remains one of the most restrictive states in the nation, setting the stage for what is expected to be a divisive 2026 midterm election cycle.
In the wake of the ruling, pre-existing state abortion bans, known as trigger laws, such as Idaho's Senate Bill 1385, immediately went into effect. Nearly four years after that ruling, critics argue that Idaho remains one of the most restrictive states in the nation, setting the stage for what is expected to be a divisive 2026 midterm election cycle.
