Proposition 1: Idaho women reflect on the experiences shaping their views
Originally Posted 6:05 PM, Oct 12, 2026
IDAHO (KIVI) — Two Idaho women whose experiences with pregnancy and loss have shaped their views on abortion are preparing to cast opposing votes on Proposition 1.
The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act would restore abortion access to a standard similar to what existed before Idaho’s near-total ban took effect in 2022. The citizen-led initiative would protect abortion before fetal viability, as determined by a physician, and afterward in medical emergencies involving threats to the pregnant patient’s life or physical health.
For Rebecca Crozier, who plans to vote yes, the debate brings back memories of a pregnancy she and her husband had wanted for years.
In their home sits an urn containing their daughter’s ashes. Her name was Haven.
“I have always wanted children. My husband’s always wanted children,” Crozier said.
The couple tried to conceive for 19 months before Crozier became pregnant.
“I called my mom and I was like, what do you do when you find out you’re pregnant?” she said.
At 11 weeks, Crozier said, doctors diagnosed Haven with anencephaly, a condition in which the brain and skull do not develop properly.
“They told us from the very beginning, and they were like, this is not a survivable condition,” Crozier said. “You will not be bringing this baby home.”
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Crozier said her own health problems also made continuing the pregnancy more complicated. After discussing her options with her husband and care team, she decided to end the pregnancy.
She called clinics in several states before finding an appointment in Utah, where she stayed with family and received an abortion.
Crozier said sharing her story is a way to help other Idahoans understand a decision she never expected to face.
“I was a person who, up until this point, was like, I would probably never have an abortion. I just don’t think I could do that,” she said. “And I mean, things change. Things change very quickly.”
Amy Haycock also brings personal experience to the ballot box, but the southeastern Idaho mother of five plans to vote no.
Haycock works in medical staffing, helping staff OB-GYNs at hospitals across the country, including Idaho. She questions whether Idaho’s abortion laws are driving staffing shortages, saying she has not seen an increase in demand through her own work.
A study published in July 2025 in JAMA Network Open, an American Medical Association journal, found a 35% net decline in OB-GYN physicians practicing obstetrics in Idaho between August 2022 and December 2024. The figure accounts for new arrivals and physicians who moved, retired or stopped practicing obstetrics. The study did not establish the reason for every departure.
Haycock’s opposition to abortion is also rooted in her faith and her family’s experiences.
She said she has had four miscarriages, and two of her children were born prematurely. Her daughter was born at 28 weeks, and Haycock said doctors warned that she might not survive.
“She’s 5 now and doing great,” Haycock said.
Her 3-year-old son was born at 24 weeks. He has cerebral palsy and uses a cochlear implant.
For Haycock, those experiences reinforce her belief that a prenatal diagnosis should not determine whether a pregnancy continues.
“My other kids being able to be around him, you know, and be older siblings to him and help him with his physical therapy, it’s just blessed our whole family dynamic,” she said.
Crozier, who still hopes to have children, wants Idaho families to be able to make the choice she did without traveling out of state.
“I think ultimately that’s what it boils down to is you and your family and your doctor talking about what’s best for us,” she said.
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The women’s pregnancies involved different medical circumstances and outcomes. Their disagreement centers on what Idaho law should allow.
Proposition 1 would change state law, rather than amend the Idaho Constitution. Voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to adopt its protections or leave existing state law unchanged. For more information, visit https://voteidaho.gov/.
