National Right to Life president to speak in Boise

Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life (Courtesy Photo)

Carol Tobias will address new threats to Idaho laws that protect sanctity of life

By Emily Woodham

Staff Writer

National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) President Carol Tobias will be the keynote speaker for the “Unwavering Witness” dinner to be held at St. Mark’s Parish in Boise on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Hosted by Right to Life of Idaho, the event aims to inspire and equip the Catholic community to stand strong in the face of new threats to Idaho laws that protect the sanctity of life.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with a taco dinner served at 6:30 p.m. The night’s theme is “Let’s Taco ‘Bout a Path to Victory for Life!” The dinner is $20 per individual and $10 for students. Proceeds benefit Right to Life Idaho’s mission to advance reverence for human life in the state.

Tobias, who will speak about the current challenges to pro-life laws in Idaho, has served on the NRLC board of directors since 1987, as president and in various other roles, including political director from 1991 to 2005, and has been a commentator on major national and international news networks.  

“Idaho’s strong prolife laws are coming under attack,” said Emily Naugle, coordinator for St. Mark’s Respect Life and a member of the board for Right to Life of Idaho.

“Signatures are being collected at this very moment for the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act (RFPA),” she said of a proposed measure that supports the restoration of abortion rights in Idaho and would effectively serve as a counter to the Defense of Life Act passed by Idaho’s legislature in 2020.

The Act was created as a “trigger law,” intended to go into effect after the anticipated overturn of Roe v. Wade. This 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision made abortion a right under federal law. On June 24, 2022, the court overturned that decision, reverting abortion law to state legislatures, triggering Idaho’s Defense of Life Act, which makes abortion illegal except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.

“If passed, this (RFPA) would be more destructive than Roe v. Wade,” Naugle said. “We need all hands on deck so we can soundly defeat this assault on the sanctity of life.”

Naugle said a petition in support of the RFPA is making the rounds via the nonprofit organization Idahoans United for Women and Families, whose mission is to advocate for and restore “comprehensive reproductive health care for women,” which includes abortion and contraception.

The group must collect signatures from at least 6% of registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts by May 1, 2026 to qualify for the November 3, 2026 general election.

The organization claims on its website that the Defense of Life Act does not adequately account for medical concerns in which an abortion would benefit the mother’s health. The website also says that medical care in Idaho is declining because of the pro-life act.

A report released in 2024 by the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare stated that 22 percent of OB-GYNs left Idaho due to the Defense of Life Act. Though this statistic is widely quoted by different news sources, several of the citations listed in the organization’s report were expired or unavailable for verification at press time.

The most recent academic document on Idaho physicians comes from the Center for Health Workforce Studies of the University of Washington and uses data from 2021.

“The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act allows abortion up to fetal viability, but uses its own definition of fetal viability that is vague and therefore permissive beyond what even Roe v. Wade allowed,” Naugle said.

Visit rtli.org for more information.