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I have been fortunate to serve our community as an obstetrician/gynecologist since 1991 and have cared for over 6,000 women in my career in the Treasure Valley.
I have worked at St. Alphonsus and St. Luke’s at various times and currently serve as the Director of Women’s Services for St. Luke’s Health System Women’s Services. At 31 years old, I have seen pregnancy-related complications and the devastating emotional impact of their diagnosis and treatment.
I love the practice of medicine and I care deeply about my patients. While I have never experienced abortions as a form of birth control, I have participated in many procedures or treatments that require the termination of pregnancy as clearly defined in current abortion laws.
These include the common bread-and-butter pregnancy issues that most of your family or friends have experienced, ie miscarriage, non-viable pregnancy – misplaced, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes and countless other birth defects incompatible with life. Many require immediate termination of pregnancy even when the mother’s death is not imminent – especially ectopic and molar pregnancies with multiple unusual cancers and medical diagnoses.
To be clear, such cases are being handled in every hospital in our region today. The laws are vague, overly restrictive, and place our medical providers in a no-win position between preventing irreparable harm or maternal death and avoiding criminal or civil penalties that are considered medical standards.
Delays in treatment secondary to these laws can and do cause harm.
I am also concerned about my colleagues. Providers in OBGYN, family medicine, emergency medicine and anesthesiology along with nurses, pharmacists, clinical and OR staff are the frontline people who care for these patients in our clinics, urgent care and hospitals. While all understand the dangers of medical malpractice, no one has faced criminal or civil liability for providing medical care in good faith.
In my current role, I have heard from many of my colleagues and participated in many meetings where providers and staff have shared tears and fears about providing routine medical care in the past. Unfortunately, their fears are justified as there is a significant lack of clarity in these laws – and especially the trigger law, where there are no exceptions – only affirmative defenses (that is, you committed the crime – you have sufficient proof of your actions).
Many are considering moving to another state. Shortages of providers and clinical staff are likely to worsen under current laws.
If notIdaho’s blanket abortion ban goes into effect Aug. 25.
I urge the Judiciary to consider the bond that providers and hospitals find themselves in and to end the blanket ban on abortion. As mentioned earlier In the Idaho Coalition for Safe Reproductive Health Care – mothers, daughters, relatives, friends and co-workers, and all men and women in our state depend on us – legislators and the medical community to get this right.
This is important enough that everyone should be Engaged in this discussion. The Legislature and the medical community must work together to rewrite both laws to protect the health of our Idahoans.
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