Idaho hospital stops delivering babies because of the state’s near-total abortion ban

A hospital in Idaho will stop delivering babies, according to a statement provided by the hospital. Hospital managers cite the “increasing criminalization of physicians” and the “inability to retain pediatricians” as the main reasons—and both of those reasons are directly tied to the state’s near-total abortion ban.

Bonner General Health, the only hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, announced on Friday it would no longer provide labor, delivery and other obstetrical services. If residents of Sandpoint need to seek obstetrical care, they will need to drive at least 46 miles for labor and delivery care.

In the statement, the hospital said the decision to eliminate the obstetrics unit stemmed from the “political climate” in Idaho.

“Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult,” the statement reads. “We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services. We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”

Related: Abortion bans could have unintended consequences for fertility treatments like IVF

Currently, Idaho has three separate near-total abortion bans: One prohibits abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy, one bans all abortions with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the pregnant person and one allows family members to sue doctors who they believe provided abortion care in civil court.

“The Idaho legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care,” Bonner General Health’s statement continues.

“Consequences for Idaho physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”

Related: Texas woman nearly dies post-miscarriage after she was forced to carry the nonviable pregnancy

According to a report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute, mothers in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die. The report found that maternal mortality rates in states with bans was significantly higher.

The combination of abortion bans, more births and insufficient care could leave states like Idaho “completely unprepared for the ramifications in the lives and health and wellbeing of women and children and families that these bans are going to cause,” Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, told Axios.

The Guardian reports that Dr Amelia Huntsberger, a Bonner General Health obstetrician-gynecologist says that she would be leaving the hospital and the state because of its restrictive abortion laws, and because the Idaho legislature was terminating its maternal mortality review committee.

“What a sad, sad state of affairs for our community,” Huntsberger said.

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