Idaho lawmakers have placed women in danger. This law needs to be changed immediately | Opinion

Devastating abortion ban

Since Idaho enacted its abortion ban, women across the state have faced devastating consequences. This law severely restricts access to healthcare, forcing women to travel out of state or continue unsafe pregnancies, risking their health and future. Since the ban, Idaho has seen a 73% reduction in abortion services, leaving thousands of women without safe options.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, over 90% of Idaho counties already lacked access to abortion care even before the ban, further compounding the difficulties. The women most affected by this legislation are those who can’t afford to travel or take time off work, putting them in an impossible situation.

Women should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions without interference from the government. By stripping away access to abortion, Idaho lawmakers have not only attacked women’s autonomy but have also created a dangerous public health crisis.

It’s time for Idaho to reconsider this harmful legislation and prioritize the well-being of its citizens. I urge lawmakers to restore access to safe and legal abortions, ensuring that women in Idaho can receive the healthcare they deserve.

Devon Van Kleek, Boise

Caldwell bond failure

What a disappointment that many Caldwell citizens who are supportive of our children and our public schools didn’t go to the polls and vote in the May primary in favor of the supplemental levy. Due to insufficient funding for education from the state of Idaho, most school districts in Idaho find it necessary to ask the citizens to help with budget shortfalls. Realizing the importance of a high-quality education for our young people, Caldwell citizens passed supplemental levies for at least 35 years.

As a result of the failure to pass the May supplemental levy, the Caldwell Schools have found it necessary to close one neighborhood elementary school, eliminate school resource officers who help keep our children safe, cut the staff who are educating our children for the future and require students to pay to play sports — to name only a few areas where service have been eliminated this school year.

Our children are our most precious resource, they are our future. Please vote yes for the supplemental override for the Caldwell School District when you vote in the November general election.

Elaine and Bob Carpenter, Caldwell

Time to take stock of our bounty

Hunting season is upon us and now is the time to take measure of the special place we call home.

Within a half-day drive of any Idaho city, there are millions and millions of acres of public lands are home to vast big game herds, enough to offer hunts for most of the fall. At the same time, there are ruffies on the creek bottoms, blues on the ridges, and sage grouse on the high sagebrush steppe. Idaho hunters can chase everything from mountain goats to elk to deer to bighorn sheep to wild turkeys. The state has massive sturgeon and tiny bluegill; steelhead and salmon; trout and bass.

We have that bounty because of sound management by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and its nearly 100 years of science-based management. We also have that bounty because of the state’s 62 million acres of public ground, including critical big game winter ranges across the state from the Boise Front, Tex Creek near Idaho Falls, and Sand Creek west of St. Anthony.

I write these words today to praise the IDFG biologists and public land managers who are working to keep our hunting traditions alive through thoughtful game rules and preservation of wild places where those animals can complete their lifecycle. I also praise public land managers who meet their multiple-use mandates, assuring room for wildlife.

I also write to challenge all Idahoans to get involved in both wildlife management and the wise multiple use of public lands. We have an incredible bounty, but its future is not preordained. Idaho is growing, changing and pressures on our public resources are mounting. We must all work to make sure it continues for our kids and their children.

Rob Thornberry, Idaho Falls

Prop 1 would fix Idaho politics

It is easy to be confused about Proposition 1 given the amount of misinformation pouring forth from political parties and power brokers. The key point to me, and the majority of neighbors that I have talked to, is that Proposition 1 is the only proven solution for regular citizens to claw back some of the power hijacked by political parties and the powerful over the years, and reduce the focus on fringe and wedge issues in order to refocus on the basic issues that need urgent attention (economy, jobs, housing, child care, education, water, wildfire). Experience in Alaska and other states show that Proposition 1 will start to restore more influence to the vast majority of voters who want to see progress on the important issues, and are willing to work and compromise with their neighbors to get it. Of course, Proposition 1 is not as simple as our current system. But our current system is broken, and we need solutions to fix it. The politicians won’t fix it, so we need to vote yes for Proposition 1 and start fixing politics ourselves.

John Segar, Boise

Trump a threat to democracy

Dear neighbors: I get it. You think Trump is great.

But have you listened to him lately? I don’t understand “word salad” or “the weave.” I should not need a third party to interpret what spews from his mouth. Amid the hate, disinformation and misinformation, you must listen with both ears to find who he is and what he actually wants to do as president.

The man wants to be a dictator, throw out our Constitution and turn the military against his perceived enemies. You may be his best friend today but what happens when you disagree with him tomorrow? Michael Cohen knows.

With Trump, loyalty flows inward only. Trump is known for throwing people under the bus. His attorneys, children, people who have worked for him for years are all taking the blame for his actions. As for his business success? He declared bankruptcy repeatedly; he is the only person to lose money owning a casino.

But, if you still believe he is wonderful, prepare to live in a bankrupt dictatorship without that pesky Bill of Rights that now protects you. He’ll burn it, and Putin will sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom.

Joan Ehrnstein, Meridian