More Than 50 Obstetricians Have Fled Idaho Since Abortion Ban Was Implemented – By Zane McNeill (Truthout) / Feb 23, 2024
The reduction in available doctors and obstetric programs will likely increase maternal mortality rates in the state.
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Idaho has lost 22 percent of its practicing obstetricians in the 15 months since the state’s near-complete ban on abortion was implemented, a new study finds.
The research, conducted by the Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative (IPWAC), reveals that over 50 obstetricians in Idaho have left the state since August 2022, meaning that only an estimated 210 obstetricians are available to serve more than 962,000 women in the state.
“In a time when we should be building our physician workforce to meet the needs of a growing Idaho population and address increasing risks of pregnancy and childbirth, Idaho laws that criminalize the private decisions between doctor and patient have plunged our state into a care crisis that unchecked will affect generations of Idaho families to come,” Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, an OB-GYN and the board president of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare Foundation, said in a press release.
Idaho has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country. Not only does the state prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy, right-wing lawmakers have also introduced a bill in the legislature that would remove existing rape and incest exceptions.
