A new organization focused on educating Idahoans about their contraceptive options is in the early stages of formation.

The Idaho Contraceptive Education Network launched last week, and its board members include former state Rep. Kelley Packer, former state Rep. Laurie Lickley, and former Idaho Senate candidate Tara Malek — all of whom are Idaho Republicans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines abortion as an “intervention performed by a licensed clinician within the limits of state regulations that is intended to terminate a suspected or known ongoing intrauterine pregnancy and that does not result in a live birth.” Contraceptives are methods and devices used to prevent pregnancy. According to the network, many Idahoans rely on contraceptives not only to plan the timing of pregnancies, but also to treat endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, ovarian cysts, anemia and acne, among other medical conditions.

In an interview with the Idaho Capital Sun, the women said they launched the network with the goal of creating a safe space for Idahoans to learn about contraceptives and in the process build support for protected and expanded access to contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy. Research also shows access to birth control increases the likelihood a woman will complete education goals and stay in the workforce.

According to research from the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the U.S. in 2011 were unintended, and 18% of those pregnancies were considered unwanted. Further research has determined unintended pregnancy is also associated with higher incidences of depression, higher rates of preterm birth and low infant birth weights.

Lickley, who cosponsored the trigger bill that banned nearly all abortions in Idaho in 2020, said the network is meant to educate families, young women and men about where to access contraception, promote access to contraceptive methods, and eventually enhance its availability, if possible.

“Idahoans have expressed their desire to protect our right to use contraceptives,” Lickley said in a news release. “There is nothing more pro-life than giving our families access to this important family planning resource.”

“I want to make certain that we are targeting our young men and our other male family members who are really concentrated and focused on family planning,” Lickley said. “Contraceptives aren’t just for women, they’re also for men.”

Education network hopes to differentiate abortion and contraceptives

Within the last three years, Idaho has passed multiple laws restricting and ultimately banning nearly all abortions, with criminal penalties for providers who perform the procedure. The only exceptions in Idaho’s law are to save the pregnant patient’s life and in cases of rape and incest during the first trimester, with a police report.

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In April, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 374, which includes language stating that birth control methods including the pill and IUDs, are not considered violations of the state’s abortion law, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

Packer told the Sun that while those protections are now in place, discussions surrounding Idaho abortion laws sparked the idea for the education network.

“We were seeing, in the last legislative session or two, a conflation between contraceptives and abortifacients, and that’s what we want to make sure gets disconnected,” Packer said.

In May 2022, the month before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Idaho Rep. Brent Crane, R- Nampa, told Idaho Reports that he would consider holding hearings on legislation to ban abortion pills, emergency contraception like Plan B, and IUDs, a common intrauterine form of hormonal birth control Boise State Public Radio reported. Later that week, however, he said on KTVB that his answer was taken out of context, and he would not support holding hearings on legislation to ban IUDs.

Although anti-abortion advocates typically consider Plan B, an emergency contraceptive pill to be taken up to 72 hours after having unprotected sex, to be a pill that causes an abortion, there is no scientific evidence to support that claim. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the pill prevents or delays the release of an egg from the ovary, before fertilization or implantation in the uterus would occur.

Crane could not be reached by phone on Wednesday afternoon.

The network is in its early stages, the women said, and they do not have plans to venture into the education sector, nor do they have specific partnerships in mind. And while the goal is to educate Idahoans about contraception, the group did not address a question about a strategy for handling opposition from individuals who advocate for abstinence-only teaching, including lawmakers.

Malek said she hopes the network will help debunk misconceptions that abortion and contraceptives are the same, while also serving as a resource for policymakers.

“Termination of pregnancy is not something we’re discussing,” Malek said. “What we’re talking about is each person’s right, their responsibility and their very personal choice of when to start a family.”

On the network’s website, there is a resource page with information on contraceptive options including birth control pills, Plan B, the birth control shot, Nexplanon, IUDs and others.

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