BOISE, Idaho — Idaho House Minority Leader Rep. Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise) returned to the Gem State from Washington D.C. after meeting with the Biden Administration and fellow Democrats from Republican-controlled states.
In the meeting, which included 47 other state lawmakers, they compared and contrasted state abortion laws.
"Idaho is, in fact, the worst. People are not imagining it," Rubel said. "Many of the laws that get run through Idaho have already been run through Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Missouri, you name it. So, it makes a lot of sense for all of us. We're facing similar challenges to get together and see how it's playing out, and if anybody has any great ideas on how to battle back."
The United States Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of federally protected access to abortion through the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision on June 24, 2022. That returned the authority to regulate abortion back to the states; Idaho is one of 14 states that now ban most abortions.
"It dawned on us that we actually, in Idaho are the worst – the worst of the states across the country – as far as limitations and just really restrictive laws. We have total abortion bans, where some other folks have at least up to 12 weeks," Wintrow said. "We know that these policies that are being passed are wildly unpopular all over the country, and they'll have consequences."
However, the laws hold up legally. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld the state's near-total abortion ban in January 2023. The law does provide exceptions for an abortion including a rape granted the victim provides a police report, incest, or to "... prevent the death of the pregnant woman."
In a summary, the highest court in the state expressed, "if the people of Idaho are dissatisfied with these new laws, they can elect new legislators."
It's a sentiment echoed by House Majority Leader Rep. Megan Blanksma (R-Hammett). Blanksma sponsored the original abortion law previously known as House Bill 1385 through the 2020 legislative session. Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed the bill into law, but it was only enforceable after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade two years later.
"Democrats are asserting that they may represent a certain component of Idaho, but they're not representative of your average Idahoan, and I think that's false for them to assert that," Blanksma said in a phone call with KTVB. "I would note the last few cycles in the state legislature, we have picked up seats from Democrats."
KTVB previously reported healthcare workers leaving the state of Idaho in response to restrictive abortion laws that can leave doctors who violate the law in criminal and civil legal trouble. Bonner General Health in Sandpoint announced in March they will no longer provide labor and delivery services. Part of the decision stems from Idaho's legal and political climate, according to a statement from the hospital.
The Idaho Coalition for Safe Reproductive Healthcare (ICSRH) also voiced concerned over Idaho's abortion laws citing, "prevent the death of the pregnant woman" is too vague of language.
"They want clarity on what the law says, and so we're really focused on trying to provide as much clarity as we can," Blanksma said. "That's what their concern is, the ambiguity. They want to make sure that they have as much clarity as possible, and I think we're we continue to try to provide that."
Blanksma sponsored House Bill 374 nearing the end of the 2023 legislative session that has since been signed into law, too. The law eliminated the affirmative defense clause; a doctor who performs an abortion is now innocent until proven guilty. The law also added explicit exceptions including ectopic and molar pregnancies, and it entitles a rape victim to a copy of their police report within 72 hours of filing that same report.
However, ICSRH organizing member Dr. Lauren Miller told KTVB the bill did nothing to clarify the ambiguous language regarding the life of the mother.
"How close to death you need to be before you can intervene? How close to death before you can act? We shouldn't just be talking about preventing death. That is not what we do as healthcare providers," Miller said. "We maintain the health of our patients. Sometimes, unfortunately, termination of pregnancy is part of that conversation. It is the way to maintain a woman's health."
Idaho is the only state that does not have a Maternal Mortality Committee (MMC), according to Wintrow and Rubel. The committee is supposed to review and analyze cases in the state of women who die from their pregnancy.
"When you just look issue after issue, even in the reddest states, our policies are demonstrably the worst," Rubel said.
Idaho did previously have a MMC; however, the program ended this year, Blanksma said. Statehouse leadership is working on a plan to bring back the program with clear outcomes and expectations.
"They've been operating for three years, but there hasn't been an actual work product on how to improve the situation, and it's great to have the data, right? But if you're not producing the work product to make the situation better, I don't see that as a productive use of time," Blanksma said. " This year, we are working with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to figure out how we can do that within the department."
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