Idaho's abortion ban is sending pregnant patients out of state

Doctors in Idaho say the state's abortion ban is forcing patients to endure long and potentially risky transfers to other states.

Since January, Dr. Stacy Seyb, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Boise, Idaho, has had at least four of his patients wheeled onto emergency flights and airlifted out of the state while experiencing severe pregnancy complications.

One of them was a woman whose water broke around 20 weeks into her pregnancy, putting her at risk of infection. In these types of emergencies, ending the patient’s pregnancy can be part of the standard of care. But doctors at the hospital where Seyb works say they have been forced to transfer patients who have these complications out of state to comply with the state’s abortion ban.

“This has become the new normal, which is sad,” he said.

Idaho bans all abortions, with criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or assists. The law includes limited exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of a mother, but there is no exception to protect her health.

After oral arguments Wednesday, the Supreme Court is now considering whether Idaho’s abortion ban violates a federal law that requires hospitals to offer emergency care to patients in crisis. Thus far, the justices seem split on that question, with some of the more conservative justices appearing to lean toward the state of Idaho, which has argued that federal law should not supersede its own laws on health care.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/idahos-abortion-emergency-supreme-court-airlifted-rcna148828

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