Doctors describe confusion and concern about Idaho’s abortion laws during the trial

An Idaho district court heard arguments this week in a case brought by four women over the state’s abortion ban. The women say they were denied emergency health care because of the laws, which have few exceptions for abortion.

The ban allows 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 legislation to include cases where a woman’s health or safety is at risk.

Doctors who testified Thursday described how the lines drawn in Idaho’s bans are confusing.

“Physicians have never been trained to wait to prevent a patient’s death – we’re just not trained that way,” said Dr. John Werdel, an obstetrician at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise. “We are trained to intervene early to prevent complications that may arise later. And waiting until the end, or until someone is sick, doesn’t suit us – that’s not right.”

“It’s simply impossible for us to know whether or not treating it will lead to death or simply a worsening of the disease, loss of fertility or a number of other complications,” says Dr. Ali Raja, vice chairman of emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. , who was called as a witness for the plaintiffs.

The state of Idaho, on the other hand, argued that the abortion ban is clear.

But prosecutors said doctors, faced with uncertainty and possible prosecution, are sending patients out of state. Women in this case sought treatment for nonviable 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 access to abortion through changes to state constitutions, while abortion is limited or almost completely banned in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a partnership 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 throughout region . Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Society for Public Broadcasting.