Idaho lawmaker said ‘judgment is coming’ on abortion. Planned Parenthood said that’s a threat
A Republican state lawmaker is facing criticism from Idaho’s abortion rights groups after saying he didn’t know “why Planned Parenthood hasn’t been nuked off of State Street” at a Saturday town hall.
Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, was part of a panel at a town hall in Hayden organized by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee when he made the comments.
Planned Parenthood has three locations in Idaho: at 3668 N. Harbor Lane off of State Street in Boise; 2112 E. Franklin Road in Meridian and 200 Second Ave N. in Twin Falls.
Mistie Tolman, Idaho state director for Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, said in a news release that Barbieri’s statement is “deeply concerning.”
“Planned Parenthood has long been a target of anti-abortion violence, and comments like these only further incite violence,” Tolman said. “Anti-abortion violence is single-issue terrorism, and anti-abortion extremists are considered a domestic terrorist threat by the U.S. Department of Justice.”
Barbieri could not be reached via phone or email for comment on Sunday or Monday morning.
The organization has been the subject of multiple shootings, bombings and arson in the past, the most recent a shooting at a clinic in Colorado Springs in 2015 where three people died.
Barbieri, Mendive comment on Idaho abortion bills
Video footage from the Saturday town hall shows the moderator asked Barbieri and fellow panelist Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene, whether they’re prioritizing banning all abortion or “compromising with other so-called pro-life bills.”
Mendive replied first.
“I believe America is going to be judged for what we’ve done to the unborn,” Mendive said. “What stuns me about all of this is that we’re still here, because I don’t understand why we are because of what we’ve done (through the) abortion history.”
Barbieri said there’s “a schism now in the pro-life movement” in the Idaho Legislature. Some legislators believe a complete ban on abortion is necessary, but Barbieri said it’s impossible to get bills proposing that through the Legislature. Idaho lawmakers have declined to enact legislation in recent years that could potentially open the door to prosecution for those performing or undergoing abortions.
“There are problems with charging the mother, there are problems with charging the doctor,” Barbieri said. “Certainly, it’s murder.”
He then said he wanted to “allude to Rep. Mendive’s comment” about judgment.
“To quote someone down there ... I don’t know why Planned Parenthood hasn’t been nuked off of State Street,” Barbieri said. “I don’t know why America has not been judged — if you can say that we’re not being judged now — for the ... 42 million babies worldwide murdered this year — or last year. Judgment is coming. That’s not my job. We know whose job that is.”
Tolman said Barbieri’s comments come at a time of “heightened ... anti-abortion sentiment” in federal and state government.
“This statement comes on the heels of some of the most harmful and cruel attacks by the Republican-led legislature on reproductive health and the LGBTQ community, only making comments like these that much more serious,” Tolman said in the news release.
It’s not the first time Barbieri has faced criticism for comments related to abortion. In 2015, he made national headlines when he asked a doctor if women could swallow a small camera in order to undergo remote telemedicine gynecological exams. Dr. Julie Madsen was testifying in opposition to a bill forbidding doctors from prescribing abortion-inducing medication via telemedicine. Madson told Barbieri that would be impossible because the digestive tract does not lead to the vagina. Barbieri later said he asked the question rhetorically to make a point.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 9:49 AM.
