LDS Church donates $1 million to fight Idaho’s Proposition 1
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IDAHO FALLS — Less than a month before the November general election, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated $1 million to the campaign opposing Idaho’s Proposition 1.
Tom Luna, a representative of the Stop Prop 1: Too Extreme For Idaho campaign, announced the contribution Thursday during an interview with hosts Neal Larson and Julie Mason on Idaho Falls-based Newstalk 107.9. Luna is a former Idaho superintendent of public instruction and former chairman of the Idaho Republican Party.
EastIdahoNews.com confirmed this donation through LDS church officials, who issued the following statement:
“While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains neutral toward political candidates, it actively addresses ballot initiatives it believes carry significant moral consequences. Accordingly, the Church has joined a coalition of like-minded organizations and individuals in Idaho to dedicate resources toward defeating Proposition 1.”
According to reporting by Newstalk, the donation marks a significant financial development in the debate over the Idaho ballot initiative, which addresses abortion rights in the state.
During the radio interview, Luna discussed the contribution, the coalition’s fundraising efforts, and its campaign strategy leading up to the election.
Luna, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the Stop Prop 1 coalition was established as an interfaith effort. He helped organize the campaign alongside Christian Welp of the Catholic Diocese of Boise and evangelical leader Blaine Conzatti.
He said that although the different faiths may disagree on doctrinal matters, they share common moral values.
“If anyone should unite to defeat Prop 1, it should be people of faith,” Luna said. “We may have doctrinal issues, but when it comes to protecting life, we all agree.”
The reported $1 million contribution follows a two-week period during which letters opposing Proposition 1 were read to Latter-day Saint congregations during Sunday services.
Campaign organizers hope the donation will help narrow a substantial fundraising gap between supporters and opponents of the initiative.
According to the Idaho Statesman, the Idahoans United for Women and Families campaign supporting Proposition 1 received nearly $2 million in donations in late September, including $650,000 from a Washington, D.C.-based political action committee and $250,000 from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The contributions drew criticism from opponents who questioned the influence of out-of-state donors. However, campaign officials said approximately $3 million of the nearly $5 million raised has come from Idaho donors.
Luna also claimed that a nonprofit organization supporting the measure has spent approximately $2 million and is not legally required to disclose its donors.
With the opposition campaign previously operating on roughly half the budget of Proposition 1 supporters, Luna said the Church’s contribution would help fund television, radio, streaming and social media advertisements.
“The money will give us the ability to amplify and show Prop 1 for what it really is,” Luna said. The coalition plans to focus its messaging on specific language within the initiative.
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, “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.”
Opponents argue that the measure would change Idaho’s current definition of fetal viability from a standard involving survival with medical assistance to one requiring survival without “extraordinary medical assistance.”
RELATED | Millions in donations have flowed into fight over Idaho’s Prop 1 on abortion
Luna also expressed concern that the initiative’s language could override existing state laws requiring parental consent and notification for minors seeking abortions.
As the election approaches, Luna is encouraging voters to review the initiative at stopprop1.org
To read the exact language of Idaho’s Proposition 1, click here.