The fight that followed him

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s The World and Everything in It from WORLD Radio, celebrating 15 years. Today is Thursday, October 22nd.

Thanks for making us part of your morning routine. Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

First up: A proposed ballot measure in Idaho could overturn the state’s pro-life laws in the midterm election.

BROWN: Now, local religious leaders, pro-life advocates and pastors are speaking out against the measure … even from the pulpit.

WORLD’s Lauren Canterberry has the story.

NEILSON: Father in heaven, thank you so much for this day.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: In early 2025, Pastor Brian Neilson moved back home to Idaho to lead Pine Ridge Baptist Church. At the time, he was grateful to return to a pro-life state.

Before then, he had pastored in southern Kansas. In 2022, voters there rejected a constitutional amendment clarifying the state does not recognize a right to abortion.

NEILSON: Then abortion became rampant in Kansas.

Kansas has since become a regional abortion destination for women in surrounding states. Now pro-abortion activists are targeting other conservative states … including Idaho.

NEILSON: Coming here, you never think you’re going to have to do it all over again. But then I guess we should realize that because Satan is everywhere, he has the same tricks.

Idaho has one of the strictest pro-life laws in the nation. Under the Defense of Life Act, abortion is banned at every stage of pregnancy with narrow exceptions.

Next month, Idaho voters will decide whether to approve a proposition intended to repeal those protections. Locals call it simply: Prop 1. Supporters are knocking on doors and speaking at public events, while pro-life advocates are doing the same and more. Pastors are taking the issue to pulpits, urging Christians to vote against the measure.

Emily Naugle is President of Right to Life Idaho. She says pro-life voters should not ignore the very real threat the ballot item poses.

NAUGLE: It’s not enough that we’re a Christian state. It’s not enough that we are overwhelmingly conservative or Republican. That’s what people in Ohio thought. That’s what people in Montana thought. People did not take it seriously.

Ohio, Montana, Missouri, Arizona, and Nevada have all passed pro-abortion constitutional amendments since 2022, after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Idaho’s Prop 1 would remove protections for unborn babies before they could likely survive outside the womb. Advocates argue it’s necessary to protect women’s health. But pro-lifers say it could allow abortion into the third trimester.

NAUGLE: Any definition of fetal viability would allow abortion at 24 weeks. The way this redefines fetal viability is letting the doctor determine the number of weeks.

Current state statutes consider an unborn baby “viable” when he or she can potentially survive outside the mother’s womb with medical support. But the new proposal would only recognize a baby’s viability if he or she could survive without that medical help.

NAUGLE: This is late-term abortion.

Midterm years typically draw less voter engagement. But Naugle has been surprised to find many people are already aware of what’s on the ballot.

NAUGLE: At the fair booths and stuff over the summer I was very gratified that a lot of people knew about Prop 1 and had heard it preached about in church. And I’m not just talking about one church or one denomination. All over, people were familiar with it, they had heard about it from church, and they were voting no.

Pastor Neilson is one of those pressing the issue in his Sunday sermons.

NEILSON: Speaking out against abortion is no surprise to our congregation.

More than 200 Idaho pastors and ministry leaders have signed an open letter opposing the proposition. And the movement is not limited to Protestant leaders.

In July, Idaho’s Bishop urged Roman Catholics to oppose the ballot measure. Latter-day Saints leaders issued their own guidance encouraging Mormons to vote against the statute.

NEILSON: I don’t agree with Catholic or Mormon theology at all. But in this particular case, I’m not going to be mad that they’re joining us.

According to the Pew Research Center, about 61% of Idaho’s residents identify as Protestant, Mormon, or Catholic.

Both the LDS organization and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise made large donations to one of the political action committees fighting the proposition.

Naugle and Neilson say it’s important for churches to join the fight against pro-abortion initiatives.

NEILSON: The worst thing Christians are guilty of is sitting on their hands and not going to vote. In any state where this is something on the ballot, or anything like it, it is your job as a Christian to protect innocent children.

Early polls showed just over half of voters would vote against Prop 1 on election day, taking place November 3rd. Both Neison and Naugle say it will take Christians voting against it to ensure its defeat.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lauren Canterberry.

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