Supporters and opponents of Idaho’s abortion rights initiative, Prop 1, have raised millions

Two Idaho political action committees, or PACS, on both sides of the proposed abortion rights initiative, Proposition 1, have spent $1.3 million combined, and raised nearly $7.5 million total. The ballot measure’s supporters have outpaced its opponents in both fundraising and spending so far.

So far, the main PAC supporting the measure has out-raised the primary PAC that’s opposing the ballot measure — the measure’s supporters’ Idahoans United for Women and Families PAC had collected around $4.9 million as of Sept. 29 from more than 3,000 donors, while the measure’s opponents, Too Extreme for Idaho PAC, brought in about $2.5 million from 8 donors3, according to the Idaho Secretary of State campaign finance database. 

Church-affiliated groups have contributed just over $12,300 to both sides of the issue, according to an Idaho Capital Sun analysis of campaign finance data. 

In August, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador published an opinion that allows churches to spend money supporting or opposing ballot initiatives without disclosing their donors — as long as they don’t ask congregants to donate specifically about the measure, Boise State Public Radio reported. 

Most independent expenditures — money spent without coordination with a campaign to support or oppose the ballot measure — were made in opposition to the measure. County Republican Party central committees made most of these expenditures.

The measure’s supporters have not yet raised as much as the PAC formed in 2023 to campaign for a ballot initiative that would’ve made Idaho’s primary elections non-partisan and used top-four ranked-choice voting. Idahoans for Open Primaries raised more than $5.6 million, most of which originated out of state. 

More than $4.4 million was spent on independent expenditures to support the ranked-choice voting initiative, and around $553,000 was spent in opposition, according to the Secretary of State data dashboard. That measure failed to pass, with nearly 70% of voters voting against it, the Sun previously reported. 

What would Idaho’s Proposition 1 do? 

The initiative would repeal Idaho’s abortion bans, enumerate rights related to reproductive healthcare such as access to contraceptives and IVF, and provide liability protection to doctors providing reproductive healthcare. 

Idaho’s existing laws ban nearly all abortions, with exceptions to prevent the death of the mother or in cases of rape and incest in the first trimester with a police report. Doctors who perform abortions face felony penalties and minimum prison sentences, licensing penalties, or could be sued in civil court for a minimum of $20,000 by family members of the aborted fetus.