BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Coalition for Safe Reproductive Healthcare (ICSRHC) still needs more clarity regarding Idaho's abortion laws after laws House Majority Leader Rep. Megan Blanksma (R-Hammett) introduced House Bill 374 (HB374), according to ICSRHC organizing member Dr. Lauren Miller.
Under Idaho law, abortion is legal only in the case of rape with a police report, incest, or a doctors "good faith medical judgement... to prevent the death of the pregnant woman."
HB374 aims to clarify the language dividing legal abortions in Idaho from what would otherwise be considered a felony; however, the legislation does not offer any clarification regarding the legality of an abortion intended to save a woman's life.
"How close to death you need to be before you can intervene? How close to death before you can act?" Dr. Miller told KTVB. "We shouldn't just be talking about preventing death. That is not what we do as healthcare providers. 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."
The proposed legislation would eliminate the affirmative defense clause, add explicit exceptions including ectopic and molar pregnancies, and entitle a rape victim to a copy of their police report within 72 of filing that same report.
Dr. Miller supports these proposed amendments to the law; however, complications with a pregnancy can be broader than that.
"A baby whose skull did not form and will not have any brain by the time of delivery, that is a 100 percent lethal diagnosis. In this state, a woman must carry that pregnancy to term," Dr. Miller said. "This is what I do as a Maternal Fetal Medical Specialist. I council patients about complications for their babies every day and help them make decisions about what is best for their family. Right now, the only options I can give is traveling out of state, leaving their family, and having to spend money to travel and fly somewhere else."
Dr. Miller has explicitly told patients in such a situation about their option to seek care outside Idaho borders; some of her patients have decided to do that. Moreover, some doctors are not far behind, according to Dr. Miller.
There are less than 10 Maternal Fetal Medical Specialists in the entire state, Dr. Miller said. She adds at least two of them have elected to leave Idaho in direct response to state laws regulating how they can perform their job.
Bonner General Health in Sandpoint announced this month 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.
Dr. Miller favors amendments to Idaho law that allows doctors to perform abortions for pregnant women who "could" die from health complications. ICSRHC is working alongside the Idaho Medical Association (IMA) to push for these types of amendments in Idaho law.
Rep. Blanksma told KTVB removing the affirmative defense clause in HB374 was a direct response to IMA requests ensuring there are compromises in this bill. Under affirmative defense, all abortions are considered illegal and anyone who performs an abortion must prove their innocence.
If HB374 were to become law, a doctor who performs an abortion to prevent the death of a mother would be considered innocent until proven guilty.
"Some people want abortion to be legal in Idaho, and that's just how they are. And there are some of us who do not want abortion to be legal in Idaho, and that position is not going to change either. So, when it's an either-or issue, there's not a lot of compromise," Rep. Blanksma said.
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