Midterms: Voters in Idaho and Virginia will decide on legalizing abortion up to birth

Voters in Idaho and Virginia will have the opportunity in the upcoming midterms the opportunity to approve proposals that would, de facto, allow for abortion up until the moment of delivery.

In the case of Idaho, the wording of Proposition 1, the name under which it will appear on the ballot, has ended up in court, since Attorney General Raúl Labrador wanted the text to be unambiguous so that all citizens would know without a shadow of a doubt what they were voting on in a matter as serious as abortion.

The initiative's proponents took the initial text to court, and the court ruled that Labrador's proposal "did not comply with state regulations regarding the use of clear and concise language." After submitting a new proposal on Saturday, a five-judge panel approved it on Sunday.

However, Labrador criticized the court's decision, noting that his legal obligation as attorney general is "to provide a clear and concise statement of the effect of a vote on an initiative. We do not tell Idahoans how to vote; we tell them what their vote will do. The sponsors are entitled to advocate for their initiative, but they are not entitled to dictate the official ballot language. Idaho voters deserve a fair description of both choices so they can decide for themselves. "

Thus, Labrador noted that "The Yes statement reflects the sponsors’ own initiative language, and the No statement reflects Idaho law as it stands today"

The revisions were:

"A YES vote would support creating a right to abortion before fetal viability, defined as a fetus’ ability to survive without extraordinary medical measures, and after fetal viability in cases of medical emergency; providing protections against professional discipline and civil and criminal liability for healthcare providers; and codifying a statutory reproductive right to freedom and privacy."

"A NO vote would support making no change to Idaho’s current law, which preserves the life of preborn children by prohibiting abortion, except when necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman, and during the first trimester in documented cases of rape or incest reported to law enforcement."

Virginia: "A text 'written with the deliberate intent to mislead the public'

In Virginia, however, voters will be faced with a text "written to deliberately deceive the public" in the words of Olivia Gans Turner, director of the Virginia Society for Human Life.

"The hard truth is that this amendment is not about protecting women’s safe reproductive care, but merely more political action designed to make abortion up to birth permanently legal in Virginia. The amendment isn’t about prenatal care, miscarriage care or fertility care, it’s about allowing unlimited abortion up to birth."

The text that will appear on the ballots is as follows:

"Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?"

A formulation that, in reality, "is, to a large extent, a veiled way of referring to the right to kill babies through abortions on demand and without limits up until the moment of birth," according to pro-life activists.