Idaho's strict abortion ban

Here's how doctors say Idaho's strict abortion ban has impacted care for pregnant people

From CNN Health’s Jen Christensen

Idaho’s abortion law had an immediate effect on hospitals in the state. On January 5, the Supreme Court lifted an injunction so Idaho no longer had EMTALA protections for pregnancy complications.

Physicians leaving Idaho: The law hasn’t just hurt patient care, said Molly Meegan, chief legal officer for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a professional organization that represents the majority of practitioners in the United States.

Physicians have told the group that they are leaving the state because they don’t feel that they can practice medicine in a way that’s consistent with their ethical obligations, training and judgment. “It’s an untenable situation,” Meegan said.

Sending patients out of state: In April, St. Luke’s, the state’s largest provider of emergency services, said it had had to send six pregnant patients from its emergency department out of state via air transport to protect their health. The year before, when the injunction was in effect, the hospital had to do this only once, according to details in Wednesday’s Supreme Court document.

Dr. Kara Cadwallader, a doctor who works in Idaho and is a member of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare, said her hospital had to send a pregnant person out of state for care last week even though they typically could have treated her. She is “very excited” about Wednesday’s ruling, even if it is a “small step.”

“Beyond all the political reasons, it’s incredibly important for pregnant patients here in Idaho, who now will be able to access emergency care appropriately,” Cadwallader said.

Different approach to prenatal conversations: Dr. Julie Lyons, a family medicine physician at St. Luke’s, told CNN earlier this year that the Idaho abortion law is so restrictive that she makes sure to talk to patients – even at their first prenatal appointment – about what they will need to do if they have an emergency.

“We, more than ever, are having that discussion – like, if you need to go out of state, you need to check with your insurance, you need to make sure you buy life flight insurance,” Lyons said in February.