By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff
The new Idaho Contraceptive Education Network launched Dec. 4 with the goal of preserving and expanding access to contraceptives throughout Idaho by educating the public about their various functions, dispelling misinformation and giving Idahoans the opportunity to advocate for their needs.
“Birth control is well known as a tool to prevent or delay pregnancy, but it can also be essential to supporting fertility treatments and treating health conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, ovarian cysts, anemia, acne and others,” said Tara Malek, a former Republican candidate for Idaho Senate who spearheads the ICEN, alongside former-Reps. Kelley Packer (R-McCammon) and Laurie Lickley (R-Jerome).
In a recent press release, ICEN stated that the “majority of Idahoans” support access to contraceptives and believe they are essential to reducing unplanned pregnancies. The issue has remained at the center of U.S. domestic politics since the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022 that gave states the option to regulate abortion access, thereby overturning the landmark case Roe v. Wade that had guaranteed access to abortion as a constitutional right.
“The most important message we can share is that life is so important and precious, and it should be prepared for in a thoughtful way. Contraceptives allow people to do that,” Packer stated in the press release.
In April 2023, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 374 into law, clarifying that birth control does not violate Idaho’s strict abortion laws. Since many have conflated these two elements of family planning, ICEN seeks to ensure that the laws protecting citizens’ rights to access contraceptives remain intact in the current political climate.
“Access to birth control empowers individuals and couples to exercise their personal liberty in choosing when and if to have children, and it enables couples to thoughtfully plan to grow their families,” Malek told the Reader. “This helps to ensure couples are emotionally, financially and mentally prepared to provide a nurturing environment for their children.”
According to ICEN’s website, 80% of Republican voters throughout the nation support increased access to contraceptives, making restrictions on birth control “highly unpopular.”
Individuals and businesses are invited to join ICEN’s network at idahocen.org/join to receive educational resources and information about events and activities, and to share personal stories.
“There is nothing more pro-life than giving our families access to this important family planning resource,” Lickley stated in the press release.
While we have you ...
... if you appreciate that access to the news, opinion, humor, entertainment and cultural reporting in the Sandpoint Reader is freely available in our print newspaper as well as here on our website, we have a favor to ask. The Reader is locally owned and free of the large corporate, big-money influence that affects so much of the media today. We're supported entirely by our valued advertisers and readers. We're committed to continued free access to our paper and our website here with NO PAYWALL - period. But of course, it does cost money to produce the Reader. If you're a reader who appreciates the value of an independent, local news source, we hope you'll consider a voluntary contribution. You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.
You can contribute at either Paypal or Patreon.
Contribute at Patreon Contribute at Paypal
Coming up this week! Don’t miss out on MarchFourth, A Reunion Concert, a Street Scramble... and more! See the full list of events in the 
