Opponents of the proposed abortion rights initiative Proposition 1 filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to pull TV ads paid for by the Idaho Democratic Party in favor of the initiative. The conservative, Christian advocacy organization, the Idaho Family Policy Center, and leaders with a political action committee that opposes the initiative, Too Extreme for Idaho PAC, brought the lawsuit.
The ballot initiative Prop 1 would repeal Idaho’s abortion ban, allowing the procedure up to viability or after in cases of emergency, enumerate rates related to a range of reproductive healthcare, and provide legal liability protections for healthcare providers who provide that type of care. The initiative will be before Idaho voters in the Nov. 3 general election.
The lawsuit, filed in Canyon County court, alleges that the supporters and authors of Prop 1, a group called Idahoans United for Women and Families, paid the Idaho Democratic Party to run ads in favor of the initiative in order to pay the more favorable rates that broadcasters are required to charge to political candidates ahead of elections. The ads were run on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terri Pickens.
“Pro-abortion activists cheated their way into cheaper television advertisements to stump for their radical abortion ballot initiative,” Idaho Family Policy Center President Blaine Conzatti said in a written statement. “Instead of playing by the rules of the game as outlined in our state campaign finance laws, Idahoans United for Women and Families colluded with the Idaho Democratic Party to mislead voters and gain an unfair advantage. Idaho voters deserve transparency – not shell games and dirty tricks.”
Idaho Democratic Party spokesperson Avery Roberts called the lawsuit “frivolous” in an email to the Idaho Capital Sun. She said it was “another attempt by opponents of Prop 1 to distract from the devastating consequences of Idaho’s extreme abortion ban.” “Women are being forced to leave the state for lifesaving medical care, and the politicians responsible have done nothing to fix it,” Roberts said. “Instead of addressing the harm this ban has caused, opponents are trying to silence the families speaking out, even after the Secretary of State’s Office confirmed our advertising complies with Idaho campaign finance laws. We won’t be intimidated into silence. Idahoans deserve to hear these families’ stories and make up their own minds on November 3.”
The family policy center helped author Idaho’s law allowing family members of an aborted fetus to sue the abortion provider for a minimum of $20,000. It has also been a supporter of Idaho’s criminal abortion ban, which includes felony prison penalties for abortion providers.
Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane’s office, which oversees statewide elections, told Boise State Public Radio Friday that the ads did not violate campaign finance laws. Secretary of State’s Office spokesperson Joe Parris told the Sun Monday that the office was not investigating an ad about Prop 1 paid for by the Idaho Democrats because it had not received a complaint about it. The lawsuit includes a complaint to the office about financial reporting related to ads paid for by the Pickens campaign, but does not mention Prop 1 or a contribution from Idahoans United.
“Our office has not received a complaint on the ad that is at the center of this lawsuit,” Parris said.
