Idaho sees massive decline in obstetricians since Dobbs decision
New report shows 210 doctors have left the state since 2022
Idaho has seen its maternal care crisis worsen as OB/GYNs have fled or avoided the state because of its abortion ban and strict exceptions.
Many have to push back their appointments to 16 weeks of pregnancy because the ones who’ve remained in the state are treating other women.
One woman sued the state because she had a fatal complication of her pregnancy. The doctors couldn’t perform an abortion, and she had to deliver it stillborn. Another woman who joined the suit was 26 weeks along and had a fatal anomaly that also necessitated an abortion. Kimra Luna, co-founder of Idaho Abortion Rights, said more women are moving to Washington and Oregon.
“So you literally have to go to another state,” Luna said. “And if your insurance doesn't cover your birth in the other state, your birth is going to cost you $20,000 or more. So this is hugely distressful to women in Idaho.”
The Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative along with the Idaho Coalition for Safe Health Care performed an analysis on the situation. Currently, only 210 obstetricians practice in the state, which is a decline of 58 doctors from August 2022 until November 2023.
The situation has deteriorated to the point that there are no neonatal intensive care units in northern Idaho.
Last year, Idaho’s state house of representatives passed House Bill 374, which was designed to ease doctors' fear of being prosecuted in instances when their medical judgment deemed an abortion necessary for a woman’s health or life.
According to Dr. Loren Colson, co-President of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare, the legislature still needs to do more.
“Because our abortion ban is so strict that on the ground, it's created a lot of confusion about what types of care we can provide,” Colson said.
Many doctors don’t want to cross a blurry line that could get them in legal trouble.
“No one wants to have to argue that they made the right call in a courtroom,” Colson said.
There are also conflicts between federal requirements for emergency care and the laws regulating the state. The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act requires doctors to provide necessary medical care to patients who come in. That may mean an abortion. That legal battle went to the Supreme Court, which said the ban can go into effect until they hear the case.
“Why would you want to deal with all this mess?” Colson said.
We know from other states with abortion bans that “exceptions” are disingenuous, at best. Even under the most justifiable circumstances they have still been widely denied by courts, so it’s no wonder providers don’t know what to do. Access to our civil and human rights—in particular to prioritize our lives, our existing children’s lives and our families over the potential for life—shouldn’t depend on where we live. OR how much money we have.