A visit to the polls in Boise shows a city divided on Prop 1's abortion proposal
Published in Political News
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's Proposition 1 became a contentious ballot item in this election cycle, drawing huge donations from supporters and opponents.
A yes note on Prop 1 would expand abortion rights and protect certain reproductive healthcare measures. A no on Prop 1 would preserve Idaho’s law that outlaws abortion in most cases.
Drive through Boise and you’ve encountered any number of yard signs telling you to vote one way or the other. Turn on the TV, and you’ll find yourself faced with yet another Prop 1 ad. Open your mailbox, and there’s a Prop 1 flyer.
Luka Leithauser, 23, described the messaging techniques from both sides as “hard to avoid.”
“There’s a sign right by my house, actually, that gets vandalized all the time,” Leithhauser said Tuesday, on Election Day. “It was against Prop 1, and people would cross it out.”
James Miller, 72, found it difficult to trust the ads.
“There are too many unchecked facts,” Miller said.
But how are voters really feeling about Prop 1 on Election Day?
At the Dick Eardley Senior Center, just north of downtown Boise, a line of voters stretched well outside the door. All 10 people asked by the Idaho Statesman there said they voted in favor of Prop 1.
“Women’s choice,” Miller said.
“Women need to be able to make their own choices,” Alan Sheets, 79, said.
“Abortion is a general good for the public, and Idaho’s laws right now are really restrictive on women’s reproductive health,” Leithauser said.
Caroline Miner, 43, said that, as someone with two children, she “strongly believe(s) that abortion is healthcare.” She rejected the idea that abortion is frequently done on a whim.
“It’s part of pregnancy,” Miner said. “It’s usually a family-based decision"
Across town, however, a polling location inside the Calvary Baptist Church on South Cole Road drew a different voting crowd.
Of the five people who spoke to the Statesman there, all said they were voting against Prop 1.
The life experiences of married couple Ralph, 67, and Lisa Kreizenbezeck, 64, might make them seem like the very type of people brought up as reasons to support the healthcare proposition. But they told the Statesman that voting in favor of it would be wrong.
Lisa became pregnant as a teenager and, as a student still in high school, did not feel ready to care for a child. Instead of an abortion, however, she chose to give birth to her daughter and place her up for adoption. To this day, she’s glad she did. She even owns a dachshund given to her by her daughter, whom she eventually reconnected with.
“There’s options out there,” Lisa said. “But there’s no reason to … ”
“Kill the baby because you did something wrong,” Ralph finished for her.
“I was adulting up,” Lisa said. “I was 18, and I was just like, ‘I’m just not ready for that yet.’ So I placed her somewhere that I knew somebody would take care of her.”
Later in life, she had a medical emergency while giving birth to her and Ralph’s son.
“I almost died,” Lisa said. “The thing is, if something would have happened, if I was given a choice between me and my son, it would have been him.”
Boise, it seemed on Election Day, is a place divided on abortion — just like the rest of the country.
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