An Idaho district court heard arguments this week in a case brought by four women over the state’s abortion bans. The women say they were denied emergency health care because of the laws, which have few exceptions for abortion.
The bans permit doctors to perform abortions to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, but not to preserve her health. This lawsuit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, seeks to clarify and expand the medical exceptions in the laws to include cases where a woman’s health or safety is at risk, too.
Doctors testifying Thursday described how the lines drawn in Idaho’s bans are confusing.
“Physicians were never trained to wait to prevent the death of a patient – that’s just not how we were trained,” said Dr. John Werdel, an OBGYN at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise. “We were trained to intervene early to try to prevent complications that could occur down the line. And waiting until near the end or until someone’s sick just doesn’t comport to us – it isn’t right.”
“It's just impossible for us to know if treating or not treating will lead to death or simply worsening of illness, loss of fertility, or a number of other complications,” said Dr. Ali Raja, Deputy Chair of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was called as a witness for the plaintiffs.
The state of Idaho argued, on the other hand, that its abortion bans are clear.
But plaintiffs said doctors, facing uncertainty and potential prosecution, are directing patients out of state. Women in this case sought treatment for non-viable pregnancies in Oregon and Washington.
The trial continues next week.
The legality of abortion in the Mountain West remains a patchwork after the November elections. Voters in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and Montana chose to guarantee varying levels of abortion access through changes to state constitutions, while abortion is restricted or nearly completely banned in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
