REXBURG—The Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce held a forum Monday night in the Romance Theater about the upcoming general election. Potential voters learned more about Proposition 1 and the US Senate race.
Hyrum Erickson moderated the forum and explained the constitutional amendments on the ballot — House Joint Resolution 4, which would give the legislature the sole authority to legalize marijuana and House Joint Resolution 6, which would designate English as the official language of Idaho.
Proposition 1 debate
When he got to Proposition 1, he invited Melanie Folwell of Idahoans United for Women and Families and Julianne Young of Idaho Chooses Life to speak for and against the proposition.
Proposition 1, if passed, would change Idaho’s abortion law, known as the Defense of Life Act. The current law restricts abortions to the first trimester or in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.
Folwell began the debate. She said the purpose of passing Proposition 1 is to return Idaho to the abortion laws used during the Roe v. Wade era. She told the audience many doctors have left the state because of the Defense of Life Act, which has a provision to arrest doctors who perform abortions outside of the scope of the law.
“When we drafted this initiative, our goal was quite singular: to restore Idaho to the standard that we all lived under for five decades and ensure that Idaho was once again a place where you could grow a family, predictably and know that you have enough doctors to take care of you,” Folwell said.
Young, who is a former state legislator, said she helped pass the Defense of Life Act as a legislator. She said a study showed the number of OB/GYNs in Idaho has actually gone up since the law passed.
However, a study from the JAMA Network, shows that between August 2022 and December 2024 the Gem State lost 94 of its 268 OB/GYNs.
Young also said in Florida, 97% of abortions were for reasons of convenience, which she said she doesn’t want to see in Idaho.
“What I want you to know is that Proposition 1 is anything but a return to Roe Era politics,” Young said. “What it really will change is our ability to protect pre-born life.”
Erickson asked the two women if the legislature would be able to change the law if Proposition 1 passed. Young said it’s possible, but politically unlikely.
US Senate candidate
The forum also had one candidate take the stage. Todd Achilles is an independent candidate running against Sen. Jim Risch. The senator was unable to attend, so Erickson played a six-minute interview Risch had with Neal Larson and Julie Mason on Newstalk 107.9. Risch explained he was not going to debate because debates often “aren’t helpful” and turn out to be a confrontation.
Achilles outlined his campaign and committed to serve only two terms if elected. He told the crowd he could do more for Idaho as an independent candidate rather than caucusing with either party.
Forum reaction
He had some local supporters in the audience, including Janet Crawford.
“He really wants to get the Senate working together again, and he feels like as an independent he's more free to do that since he doesn't have to answer to one side or the other, whichever party,” Crawford said.
Mark and Kristine Bennion were not very familiar with Achilles and were glad to learn more about him. They said they have some homework to do before they vote in November. They were grateful for the tone of the forum, especially during the Proposition 1 portion.
“I felt like both sides were able to delineate what they were wanting and certainly helped me to reaffirm my position on the issue,” Mark Bennion said.
“I really appreciated that there was no cajoling on either side, that we could clearly hear the positions on both sides on hot issues like Prop 1 and hear the reasoning behind the positions,” Kristine Bennion said.
The forum is available to watch in its entirety on the Chamber’s Facebook page.