How Much More Do Idaho Women Have To Suffer?

How much do Idaho women have to suffer before Republicans allow abortion care in medical emergencies and when health and fertility are threatened? This month, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador’s office gave its answer: endlessly.

We must commend the courageous women who shared their stories before an Ada County judge, reliving the trauma they endured under Idaho’s draconian abortion ban. These women, plaintiffs in a lawsuit to clarify exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban, were excited about their pregnancies — until devastating medical diagnoses turned joy into agony.

Jennifer Adkins shared how her fetus had a severe condition incompatible with survival and how she faced the threat of “mirror syndrome,” a life-threatening complication. Despite the risks, Idaho’s abortion ban forced her to travel out of state for care. Kayla Smith learned her fetus had fatal heart anomalies. With her own life at risk due to a history of preeclampsia, Smith had to take out a loan and travel hours to end her pregnancy humanely. These are two of the many stories that underscore the cruelty of Idaho’s laws.

How did Labrador’s office treat these women, who already endured unimaginable pain? In his opening statement, the state’s lead attorney labeled their necessary medical procedures as “barbaric.” He dismissed their experiences as “hypotheticals” and trivialized their life-threatening predicaments. His contempt culminated in repeated interruptions of their tearful testimony, prompting the judge to reprimand him and assert that their “circumstances are very worthy of sympathy.”

Unfortunately, Idaho’s GOP legislators did not write sympathy into the law. It prohibits abortion unless doctors and nurses can prove to a jury the woman would have died without abortion care. Clinicians — who are trained to keep us healthy — face the impossible situation of watching patients deteriorate or risk years in prison.

Forcing doctors to delay care until death is imminent makes death more likely. We know of at least four women who have died because of abortion bans similar to Idaho’s. There are surely more. How many more women have to die? I’m afraid it’s a heartbreaking number.

This reminds me of the swimming test used during the Salem Witch Trials. Suspected “witches” were thrown in the river. The logic was that a witch would stay afloat, but a river would accept an innocent woman, and she would sink. See the problem? To be exonerated as you’re drowning provides little assurance, just as it’s risky to be allowed abortion care only when you’re at death’s door.

In Salem, there were no witches, just women. In Idaho today, there are just women who deserve medical care that keeps them healthy and preserves their fertility so they can have another chance at building the family of their dreams.

-- Lauren Necochea
Idaho Democratic Party Chair