Idaho
Idaho group says it is exploring a ballot initiative for abortion rights and reproductive care – East Idaho News
BOISE (AP) — A new Idaho organization says it will ask voters to restore abortion access and other reproductive health care rights in the state after lawmakers let a second legislative session end without modifying strict abortion bans that have been blamed for a recent exodus of health care providers.
“We have not been able to get a fix from our lawmakers, our politicians. We are going to seek a fix from our people,” Melanie Folwell, a spokeswoman for Idahoans United for Women and Families, said Friday morning. “The people in Idaho understand the contours of this problem.”
Idaho has several anti-abortion laws on the books, including one that makes performing abortions a crime even in medical emergencies unless they are done to save the life of the pregnant patient. The federal government has sued Idaho over the ban, contending it violates a federal law that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care — including abortion — if a patient’s life or health is at serious risk.
Idaho’s attorneys say the ban allows for life-saving procedures for things like ectopic pregnancies, and they contend the Biden administration is trying to create a federal “abortion loophole” at Idaho hospitals.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case on Wednesday.
Idahoans United for Women and Families is fundraising and hopes to have one or more ballot initiatives ready to propose this summer in an effort to get them on the 2026 ballot, Folwell said.
Across the country, there have been increased efforts to put abortion rights questions to voters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and removed the nationwide right to abortion. Voters in seven states have sided with abortion rights supporters on ballot measures, and several other states have signature drives for future ballot initiatives underway.
Cynthia Dalsing, a certified nurse midwife in northern Idaho and a board member for Idahoans United for Women and Families, said her region went from offering a “premiere obstetric range of services” to becoming a maternal care desert after the four local obstetricians moved out of state.
Pregnant women in the state’s panhandle now must either travel as much as 80 miles away or leave the state entirely for obstetric care, Dalsing said. Some are delivering babies at home because of a lack of other options, she said.
Roughly one-quarter of Idaho obstetricians have stopped practicing since a near-total abortion ban took effect in August 2022, along with about half of the state’s maternal fetal medicine doctors, according to data compiled by the Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative. Three hospitals have closed their labor and delivery units.
Some physicians and businesses are warning that the abortion bans carry other ripple effects as well.
During a news conference on Thursday, Dr. Jim Souza said the reduced access to prenatal health care means some dangerous pregnancy conditions will be diagnosed later than normal. Souza, the chief physician executive at the Boise-based St. Luke’s Health System, said that could lead to increased need for intensive medical treatment for newborns or expensive medical interventions for mothers that could have been avoided with better access to obstetric care.
A coalition of groups including the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Levi Strauss & Co., Yelp, Lyft and Match Group Inc. which runs dating apps like Tinder filed a friend-of-the court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case contending that the abortion bans make it harder to recruit and retain workers and lead to increased time off of work for those who have to travel elsewhere for care.
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Shanea Fulks is the owner of Seven Sisters Closet Revival, a new consignment store at 260 South Woodruff in Idaho Falls. Take a look inside in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
IDAHO FALLS
New consignment shop in Idaho Falls offers vintage clothes for customers and booth space for sellers
IDAHO FALLS – Curating vintage clothing is Shanea Fulks’s passion, and she’s sharing it with the community through a new business venture.
Seven Sisters Closet Revival opens Saturday at 260 South Woodruff inside Parkwood Plaza in Idaho Falls. It offers racks of vintage clothes for customers and booth space for others to sell their items.
“You get a rack with shelves, and you can come in throughout the week and sell things,” Fulks tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The things you’ll see in the middle of the store are pieces that I have curated. I hand-pick all the things I bring to the store.”
See some of the items in the video above.
Fulks says she’s had multiple people walk in already who are excited about the shop.
The store will have a grand opening this weekend. Fulks is partnering with the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting and open house at noon on Friday. A local band will be performing during the event.
Then on Saturday, a grand opening celebration will begin at 2 p.m. Several vendors and live entertainment will be available. Fulks says she’s looking forward to interacting with the community.
Fulks has been selling items from her personal collection online for years. After helping a mother and daughter find a formal dress during an interaction at another shop in town several years ago, Fulks says she realized there was a need for a store like this.
After about a year of working with real estate agents, Fulks says the Parkwood Plaza space formerly occupied by a beauty salon called Blush became available, and it was an ideal fit.
“It’s just been a whirlwind and we’re just trying to get it going,” says Fulks.
Fulks’ interest in fashion stems back to childhood. She lost her dad and stepdad to suicide at a young age and grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet. As a result, she says they bought clothes at Goodwill and other secondhand stores.
She remembers being made fun of because of the clothes she wore. In time, she learned to embrace her uniqueness and developed an interest in vintage clothes.
“I’ve just always been attracted to old sweaters, military jackets (her dad served in Vietnam),” Fulks says. “I like to help people feel confident wearing something unique, even if it’s not trendy. Be bold and wear whatever you want.”
The idea of making the most of your circumstances and embracing who you are is inspired by her experience with suicide, and it’s reflected in the art that’s on display in her store.
“Part of the theme in my store is ‘Stay. We need you,’” she says.
The business name refers to her family. She comes from a blended family of six girls and four boys. When she and her husband were married, they had a daughter — the seventh sister.
Fulks says she’s looking forward to offering great deals to customers. She has two sons with autism who love art, and she wants to host art-themed events for people with special needs. She’d also like to host tea parties and other events in the future.
“I want people to come and feel like they belong,” she says. “I’m going to allow people to do karaoke. When you’re here, I want you to feel like you can have fun.”
Seven Sisters Closet Revival will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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Pocatello-based transportation company acquires competitor Yellowstone Transportation
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Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
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