Medical Professionals Are Fleeing Idaho And Other States Due To New Draconian Laws


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/20/idaho-bonner-hospital-baby-delivery-abortion-ban

Near-total ban on abortions is driving doctors away, hospital says, leading to lack of nearby labor and delivery care for thousands

An Idaho hospital has planned to stop delivering babies, with the medical center’s managers citing increasing criminalization of physicians and the inability to retain pediatricians as major reasons.

Bonner General Health, the only hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, announced on Friday that it would no longer provide labor, delivery and a host of other obstetrical services.

The more than 9,000 residents of Sandpoint are now forced to drive 46 miles for the nearest labor and delivery care, the Idaho Statesman reported.

In a statement, the hospital’s leadership said that 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,” hospital officials said in a press release.

“We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services,” the hospital’s board president, Ford Elsaesser, added in the statement.

“We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”

The hospital’s statement also said that the closure comes as the number of deliveries at Bonner continues to decline, with only 265 babies delivered in 2022 and fewer than 10 pediatric patients admitted.

The hospital also lacks enough pediatricians to manage its neonatal resuscitations and perinatal care, finding no permanent solution after reaching out to active and retired physicians to fill vacancies.

Hospital officials are hoping to keep obstetrics services available until 19 May but noted that it largely depends on staffing.

New patients are no longer being seen at the hospital, effective immediately, while current clients are being offered alternative referrals.

Be careful what you wish for, you may actually get it.

anybody Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The more than 9,000 residents of Sandpoint are now
> forced to drive 46 miles for the nearest labor and
> delivery care, the Idaho Statesman reported.

You don't always have the luxury of time when it comes to childbirth, which can be precipitous and/or otherwise challenging for both mother and babe, making outcomes uncertain.


> The hospital also lacks enough pediatricians to
> manage its neonatal resuscitations and perinatal
> care

Also a perilous situation.

My wife is a very experienced L&D RN. She has several stories of fetal demises when the family decided to have an at-home childbirth far away (40min or more) away from the hospital.

(BTW - if you do want to give birth to your child in a field...pick the one next to the hospital.)

This is dangerous. Childbirth is not without risk in even the most ideal conditions. Now add in our winter up here in the Idaho panhandle. This last winter had a ton of snow and ice on the highway that joins Sandpoint to Coeur d'Alene.

I wonder if Bonner's Ferry has a clinic?

This is just awful.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2023 11:07PM by praydude.

I heard an NPR interview (I can't remember which show now) with one of the doctors involved. She said that initially she was going to stick it out along with her husband who did actual surgeries but when the Idaho State Supreme Court ruled that the only exception under the new anti-abortion law that could be allowed was for ecto-pregnancies (sorry if I misspelled it), both knew they would have to leave.

The 45 minutes away hospital is in Spokane, Washington. While I agree with Nightingale's comments about the precipitous nature of birthing, at least there is a hospital 45 minutes away. If you lived in Boise or Twin Falls or Pocatello or Idaho Falls, the distances to receive such medical services are going to be much greater, and, for some of these services, the next-door states--Utah, Montana, and Wyoming--will not be providing them either.

blindguy: You know I'm intrigued by your machine thingy that helps you with reading etc.

Which is why I just want to let you know, for your interest and future reference, and only because you mentioned spelling, that what came out in your post was the following:

ecto (ekk-toe) with a hyphen following it.

You are wanting to write ectopic, I assume. So your assistant just missed the last three letters of the word and added a hyphen instead.

In case you ever want to use that word again.

Nightingale:
First, thank you for the correction. Second, my "thingie" as you call it, does not spell for me. Literally, I type out each and every individual letter in this and all of my posts and responses on a QWERTY (the left-hand keys on the third row from the bottom if you remember your typing class) keyboard. So, any inaccuracies are most likely due to yours truly and/or the speech synthesizer, which may have pronounced a word incorrectly. And, even there, I am ultimately to blame for I, unlike most blind people, do own a refreshable braille display and I can (usually) quite easily check the spelling with my fingers.

...on my two previous posts:

1) The available hospital that is 45 miles away is in Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. Given the state's current laws, it is not known how long that will be available.

2) With regard to ecto-pregnancies versus the correct ektopic pregnancies, I remembered that there was a word for the kind of pregnancies that the Idaho let stand to allow an abortion but I couldn't remember what the exact wording was. The reason that the Idaho Supreme Court let the ektopic pregnancies get the exception was, of course, the publicity surrounding them. Frankly, that is a terrible way to determine exceptions to laws--especially to laws covering the availability of health care.

Going backward in America. Idaho!

don't they just secede from the rest of the country??

Also, I hope they consider certifying some first-class certified nurse practitioners as midwives.

Having experienced pregnancy and childbirth myself (admittedly long ago), I have much empathy for young mothers-to-be in that sorry, backward place. Maybe they could start discussing relocating with their husbands.

Personally, I'm beginning to think that male legislators (especially in red states) should not have anything to say in lawmaking concerning women's health issues.

Would someone that is more familiar with the situation in Sandpoint explain the situation a little more for me.

It seems like all the people providing obstetrics services are leaving and the administrators are blaming the situation on the laws regarding abortions.

Are abortions in Sandpoint that significant that those providers can't make a living without that portion of their work?

To me it seems there are other factors that aren't being mentioned that are causing the closing of all obstetric services.

I don't want to get into an argument about abortions, just want some clarification of the situation.

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2023/mar/19/bgh-obstetrics-closure-heartbreaking-see/



BGH obstetrics closure is heartbreaking to see
by DR. DEB OWEN Contributing Writer
| March 19, 2023 1:00 AM

Like most breaking news in Bonner County, I first heard about the closure of the obstetrics service at Bonner General Health through the “Sandpoint grapevine." News spreads fast in a small town. Especially when you are an obstetrician who lives in that small town.

Part of me was heartbroken. Even though I no longer practice in Sandpoint, or in Idaho at all, I still live here and I felt grief for the staff of Sandpoint Women’s Health and the Bonner General nurses who have served the women of Bonner and Boundary counties so well for so long. I cherish the memories of the years I spent helping to build the practice, developing relationships with my patients and their families and delivering the next generation of Sandpoint natives.

That was my emotional reaction. My more practical side was not surprised or shocked at all. Rural obstetrics for years has been a house of cards. Rural units nationwide, especially in the Midwest, have been closing in droves over recent years. There is a national OBGYN shortage that has been worsening ever since I finished training 33 years ago - and it has escalated dramatically in the past 10 years.

Newly minted OBGYNs are fought over by huge hospital systems willing to pay just about anything to recruit them and have their pick of dozens of jobs fresh out of residency. Experienced OBGYNs wishing to relocate are hounded by headhunters every day wanting to place them. Even older docs like me are inundated with requests by locums (temporary staffing ) agencies to come and help fill in the gaps until a full-time doctor can be recruited. Every day I get at least five texts or calls from recruiters in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming who want me to come help rural hospitals fill their coverage gaps. Most OBGYN residencies are located in large urban areas. There are none in Idaho. Most OBGYN residents these days are women — they have employed partners or spouses and have little desire to leave the general location in which they trained to live in rural America.

According to the UW Medical Workforce data from 2021, there are roughly 178 OBGYNs practicing in the entire state of Idaho — 140 of them are in urban areas. The mean age of a physician in Idaho is 50-55 years of age. This is not good news. Nevertheless, a few special places like Sandpoint have always managed to recruit OBGYNs with enough time and patience. A thriving and varied medical community, arts and culture, unparalleled recreation and scenery, and easy access to the natural world have their attractions.

Rural practice is hard. I have practiced in both rural and urban settings for 33 years and I will tell you rural practice is by far the most challenging. You have fewer resources, more night call burden, less backup and access to specialists to help you with challenging patients. You also struggle to pay the bills. Rural jobs usually don’t come with Blue Cross. Working people struggle to pay what they can or forego care. Pregnancy tends to be covered by Medicaid in Idaho. But even Medicaid doesn’t cover expenses in many cases in a unit that is required to be staffed 24/7/365 by physicians, nurses, OR crews, anesthesia, and sonography for an emergency case that might walk in at any moment.

In obstetrics, there frequently isn’t time to arrange transport to a higher level of care if labor goes wrong. Women birthing at home, or in a birthing center are brought in when things aren’t going well and you have to be prepared to help them even though they haven’t chosen you for OB care. And you can’t transport someone in active labor. So you have to be prepared for anything at any time. Obstetricians on call have to be within 15-30 minutes of the hospital at all times. And all of that costs money. A lot of money. The loss of one physician can make the night call burden unsupportable for the remaining doctors. In the past hiring someone like me to help cover calls while recruiting a replacement wasn’t that hard. I was honored to help out on weekends at SWH a couple of years ago when they were looking for a new physician even though I have a full-time job on a high-risk OB unit in Spokane.

Unfortunately, with the passage of Idaho’s “trigger laws” after the fall of Roe v. Wade I believe that recruitment of new OBGYN physicians to Idaho will be almost impossible going forward. Idaho now has the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, criminalizing care for women with high-risk, nonviable pregnancies and has no exception for the life or health of the mother under any circumstances except for ectopic pregnancy. And that had to go to the Idaho Supreme Court to be considered allowable.

We aren’t talking about women who want to voluntarily end their pregnancies. We aren’t talking about doctors who want to provide elective abortions. That hasn’t been the case in Idaho for a long time. There was only one clinic in Boise, otherwise, you had to go out of state. But life-saving care for women with pre-viable (too early to be able to survive outside the womb) pregnancies complicated by infection, hemorrhage, ruptured membranes, life-threatening heart disease, stroke, severe pre-eclampsia, impending miscarriage, and lethal fetal anomalies was never illegal or a felony. With no hope of a surviving baby saving the mother’s life and preventing permanent health damage was considered paramount. Now it is a felony.

And also a basis for civil lawsuits that can be filed by any number of the patient’s relatives. “But that isn’t what we meant!“ is the refrain I hear (usually privately) from my friends with more conservative political leanings. But that is what the Legislature enacted into law, and has now been upheld as Constitutional by the Idaho Supreme Court. Even the most pro-life patients will rarely choose to sacrifice their lives and leave their other children orphans for the sake of a fetus that can’t survive, or risk loss of reproductive capacity and future pregnancy. Yet that is exactly what our lawmakers now expect from their constituents. Or at least those of their constituents that do not have the means to travel out of state.

The fallout from this is that OBGYN physicians are quietly leaving the state. Most physicians don’t go into medicine because they want to have frequent contact with the legal profession. It’s easier to relocate than to live in fear or have to live with yourself when you are forbidden to use your skills and training to save or help a patient with a severely compromised pregnancy. Boise has lost two specialists in maternal fetal medicine (high-risk pregnancy specialists) because of this. And there are no replacements to be found.

OBGYN also has a grapevine — there aren’t that many of us after all — as I monitor conversations on the grapevine several things have become apparent. New graduates are wary of accepting a job in states with the most restrictive laws — like Idaho and Texas. And now Tennessee and Kentucky. There are so many other jobs out there in other states. Most of these new graduates do not desire to become providers of elective abortions. But they do not want to face incarceration for terminating pregnancies that threaten women’s health and lives either. I personally know of several OBGYNs who have either left Idaho or are actively seeking jobs in other states with plans to move as soon as new employment is finalized, but haven’t yet announced their departure. It can take up to a year to negotiate a new position, acquire a state license, and get credentialed with insurance companies and hospitals. Physicians don’t tend to publicly announce plans to leave until new employment has been secured and underway. I believe we have only just started to see the effects of these new laws.

Many physicians were waiting for the Idaho Supreme Court decision hoping that there would be some exceptions allowed. With the recent decision upholding these extreme laws OB physicians are quietly evaluating their options. The losers? Women in these communities and their families. Doctors don’t seem to have to power to impact this process, but they can vote with their feet — and leave. Citizens don’t always have this option, especially in the middle of a pregnancy crisis. But they do have power at the ballot box, should they choose to exercise it.

Dr. Deb Owen is a Bonner County resident who graduated from Duke University of Medicine. Now working at a Spokane hospital, she was a founding partner of Sandpoint Women's Health.

Excellent article. Thanks for posting.

I wonder how long it is going to take state legislators to notice that professionals of all types, many of whom are in short supply, just don't want to move to their state?

This is a feature not a bug. They don't want an educated populace as it is a threat to their power.

People they care about have enough money to fly to a less backward place for medical care

> This is a feature not a bug.

Exactly. This isn't a mistake; it does not reflect a failure to see that "abortion" covers a range of procedures and reasons from convenience at one end of the spectrum through fairly common cases of extreme danger to the mother's life on the other. It is an ultimately Pyrrhic middle finger to the establishment and anyone who benefits from the establishment, including half of the population of Idaho.

What doctor wants to choose between a jail sentence and letting a patient and/or child die?

"If doctors worried as much about their relationships with ghawd as they do about their patients, we wouldn't be having this discussion!!"

--Whoopie Wokes, DPM

"Yeah. . . Well, we're not with her for her brains."

--Whoopie's Blokes, mostly on parole



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2023 02:50PM by Lot's Wife.

Honestly, some of the legislators would be fine with that. They don't support anything that requires education. Apparently they think living like a medieval peasant is fine. All you need are harsh rules, religion and a strong overlord.

No mRNA anything. No abortion medications even for other medical purposes. No books. Forced birth. No protection for children. Guns up everyone's rear. No respect for the environment. No concern for civil rights. Happy to give all their money to corrupt politicians. You know...the usual path of regression.

At least Idaho is competitive about one thing: the race to the bottom of extreme red states. It's not even veiled.

Yes, but these states are going to need software, to pick my profession, and they will discover that not many software professionals are interested in living there.

I know that Canada has a goal of 300,000 immigrants per year for the next three years, and they are specifically targeting software developers. "Come to Canada - we speak your language, understand your needs, and our legislatures are not staffed by crazy people."

Those are not bad arguments. They appeal to both corporations and individuals.

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Honestly, some of the legislators would be fine
> with that. They don't support anything that
> requires education. Apparently they think living
> like a medieval peasant is fine. All you need are
> harsh rules, religion and a strong overlord.
>
> No mRNA anything. No abortion medications even for
> other medical purposes. No books. Forced birth. No
> protection for children. Guns up everyone's rear.
> No respect for the environment. No concern for
> civil rights. Happy to give all their money to
> corrupt politicians. You know...the usual path of
> regression.

Sounds just like Afghanistan...

It's on that kind of path. It's fomenting as quickly as they can get away with pulling.

Like some other red states, they appear to be working on ways to override any decisions they don't like. With gerrymandering under their control, it's not easy to vote them out. They recently shut down being able to use student ID to vote. Even if we could vote them out, the influx of extreme rightys will be the majority.

Basically they figured out that taxes and rules are for little people, not for them. They know they can keep the people poor and infused with culture war issues while they do whatever they want. Sadly, the majority here enable them.

Yes, I know I sound like I'm overreacting, but pay attention to the things they say and what they are actually proposing.

Overreacting?

Women will die.

As long as fetuses don't die! (Groan)

Dagny, I thought the most interesting observation from the article was that the doctor's more religious conservative leaning friends told her "but that's not what we intended!"

There are three dynamic forces at play here that are all intertwined: fear, religion, and power.

I remember watching Ken Burns' "Prohibition" special on PBS and people said the same kind of thing back then -- they only thought hard liquor would be prohibited, not beer and wine.

Religious zealots on a crusade have no capacity for half-measures or compromise -- it's all the way or no way at all for them.

>>>more religious conservative leaning friends told her "but that's not what we intended!"

That's what you get when you vote in a kakistocracy!

We have a bunch of people in charge who haven't thought past Friday night. Then they say (using my Urkel voice), "Did I do that?" when things don't go well.

Sometimes you get democracy good and hard, especially when a lot of these legislators only had one issue when they ran for election: pro life. What a joke.

I hate kakistocracies. Why should people get power simply because of the trousers they wear?

We can't take you anywhere!

Thank you 'anybody()' for posting this article.

It explains the complete situation, it's not just abortions, it the entire OBYGN practice, the hours, the demands.

My granddaughter is going to school and working full time in the ER at the hospital with the goal of becoming an RN.

I just found out she's changing from nursing to microbiology.

The career is just as rewarding but without social situations that are impacting ERs with the drug and alcohol problems.

Those doctors and nurses staffing the ER facilities are angels, there is no way that I would or could do any of those jobs.

Nurses are the real caregivers in hospitals. They bear the brunt of the work and are rewarded with low status and boorish behavior.

Doesn't the Ob/Gyn specialty bear some of the highest malpractice rates anyway? I think you have to have a true calling to go into Ob/Gyn. And now Idaho has made those practitioners even less welcome.

tumwater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you 'anybody()' for posting this article.
>
> It explains the complete situation, it's not just
> abortions, it the entire OBYGN practice, the
> hours, the demands.


Yes, but OB/GYNs in Idaho will be charged with a *felony* for performing a D&C for a unviable fetus. In these situations, if there isn’t a spontaneous abortion (AKA miscarriage), the woman may die or become infertile.

So, yes. It’s really about abortion.

If you’re faced with watching pregnant women die because the state will not allow you to practice medicine, especially in a specialty that is all about women’s reproductive health, it’s time to leave.

And while she was here in Utah for the winter, she didn't want to take a chance with another pregnancy as she didn't know if she'd be able to get a D&C as she doesn't want to go with the pills or whatever it is they do. She hated that. She said she'd wait to go back to Alaska to try again as she can get D&Cs there.

My sister and her kids and grandkids live in Idaho. She was telling me about this a few weeks ago.

And there in lies the problem. A D&C is a legitimate medical procedure that these idiots are banning. This is the law of unintended consequences. A miscarriage means no more viable life for the child, but huge risk to the mother. I’m glad I live where women have the right to control their health care.

I believe that Washington was the first state to make abortions legal (citizen initiative ?); I also believe they made abortion training mandatory at UW medical school, It's not ordinarily required at all med schools...

https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title18/T18CH6/SECT18-622/


TITLE 18
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
CHAPTER 6
ABORTION AND CONTRACEPTIVES
18-622. CRIMINAL ABORTION. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section shall become effective thirty (30) days following the occurrence of either of the following circumstances:
(a) The issuance of the judgment in any decision of the United States supreme court that restores to the states their authority to prohibit abortion; or
(b) Adoption of an amendment to the United States constitution that restores to the states their authority to prohibit abortion.


(2) Every person who performs or attempts to perform an abortion as defined in this chapter commits the crime of criminal abortion. Criminal abortion shall be a felony punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of no less than two (2) years and no more than (5) years in prison. The professional license of any health care professional who performs or attempts to perform an abortion or who assists in performing or attempting to perform an abortion in violation of this subsection shall be suspended by the appropriate licensing board for a minimum of six (6) months upon a first offense and shall be permanently revoked upon a subsequent offense.


(3) It shall be an **affirmative defense** to prosecution under subsection (2) of this section and to any disciplinary action by an applicable licensing authority, which must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that:
(a)(i) The abortion was performed or attempted by a physician as defined in this chapter;
(ii) The physician determined, in his good faith medical judgment and based on the facts known to the physician at the time, that the abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman. No abortion shall be deemed necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman because the physician believes that the woman may or will take action to harm herself; and
(iii) The physician performed or attempted to perform the abortion in the manner that, in his good faith medical judgment and based on the facts known to the physician at the time, provided the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive, unless, in his good faith medical judgment, termination of the pregnancy in that manner would have posed a greater risk of the death of the pregnant woman. No such greater risk shall be deemed to exist because the physician believes that the woman may or will take action to harm herself; or
(b)(i) The abortion was performed or attempted by a physician as defined in this chapter;
(ii) If the woman is not a minor or subject to a guardianship, then, prior to the performance of the abortion, the woman has reported the act of rape or incest to a law enforcement agency and provided a copy of such report to the physician who is to perform the abortion;
(iii) If the woman is a minor or subject to a guardianship, then, prior to the performance of the abortion, the woman or her parent or guardian has reported the act of rape or incest to a law enforcement agency or child protective services and a copy of such report has been provided to the physician who is to perform the abortion; and
(iv) The physician who performed the abortion complied with the requirements of paragraph (a)(iii) of this subsection regarding the method of abortion.
(4) Medical treatment provided to a pregnant woman by a health care professional as defined in this chapter that results in the accidental death of, or unintentional injury to, the unborn child shall not be a violation of this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to subject a pregnant woman on whom any abortion is performed or attempted to any criminal conviction and penalty.
History:
[18-622, added 2020, ch. 284, sec. 1, p. 827, effective August 25, 2022.]

** An affirmative defense basically means that the burden of proof has shifted from the state to prove you’re guilty to you having to prove you’re innocent. IOW, if you perform an abortion, you are guilty and face two to five years in jail. Loss of your license, etc.

https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title18/T18CH6/SECT18-606/


TITLE 18
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
CHAPTER 6
ABORTION AND CONTRACEPTIVES
18-606. UNLAWFUL ABORTIONS — ACCOMPLICE OR ACCESSORY — SUBMITTING TO — PENALTY. Except as permitted by this act:
(1) Every person who, as an accomplice or accessory to any violation of section 18-605, [Idaho Code,] induces or knowingly aids in the production or performance of an abortion; and

*******
(2) Every woman who knowingly submits to an abortion or solicits of another, for herself, the production of an abortion, or who purposely terminates her own pregnancy otherwise than by a live birth,
shall be deemed guilty of a felony and shall be fined not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) and/or imprisoned in the state prison for not less than one (1) and not more than five (5) years; provided, however, that no hospital, nurse, or other health care personnel shall be deemed in violation of this section if in good faith providing services in reliance upon the directions of a physician or upon the hospital admission of a patient for such purpose on the authority of a physician.

*****
History:
[18-606, added 1973, ch. 197, sec. 5, p. 442.]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2023 04:37AM by Beth.

Thanks, Beth. Shaking my head.

Shaking my head and my fist!

I know I’m preaching to the choir, Dear One. I gotta vent.

Spokane took in Coeur d’Alene COVID patients when Idaho’s no mask, no lockdown nonsense left them with no empty beds. It’s normally not a huge deal bc the hospitals have helped each other in the past. They’re basically sister cities.

BUT

Spokane’s healthcare system was so overwhelmed, Washingtonians were ready to slap ID.

Now some of us are helping to fund Idahoans who need to leave the state for abortions, even if they change their minds.

THAT IS WHAT CHOICE MEANS!

Every month a paltry sum is automatically withdrawn from my bank account to support the Northwest Abortion Access Fund earmarked for Washington, Oregon, ***Idaho***, and Alaska patients.

Roe was the law of the land during the entirety of my reproductive years. I became complacent, and I’m ashamed. And QUITE PISSED OFF!

You're a good person, Beth!

You'd think red states would realize they always end up depending on blue states due to their bad decision. They have no shame, I tell ya! Idaho does not deserve a good neighbor like WA. CdA should not have to depend on Spokane for cripes sakes. That's infuriating.

I’m an okay person keeping at doing better. But you have gladdened my heart, so I won’t go off about the gigantic redistribution of wealth from blue to red so red wankers can bitch about taxes.

Another day, maybe.

file under

Unintended Consequences

Idaho has parked themselves on the railroad tracks. They have not yet heard the warning horn of the train, nor will they, until the train hits them.

Thus is the nature of far right thinking.

All towns haven't always had doctors...

Midwives to the rescue, as was once commonplace!

Midwives are great, but they also know when a situation requires a doctor, like for a C-section or a D&C to remove fetal tissue after a spontaneous abortion.


EDITED TO REMOVE MY NASTY COMMENT

I’m terribly sorry, |. You didn’t deserve that. I don’t have an excuse. I will try to do better by you and by others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2023 11:00PM by Beth.

They always know what to do! My midwife suggestion was simply a suggestion, nostalgia, or hope!


Your comment?
Don't worry. I didn't see it.

Midwifery is a licensed and regulated profession in Idaho. My bet is that the midwives will be no more eager than the physicians to put their licenses and freedom at risk.

So, let's say that an emergency happens during delivery. The local hospital no longer has obstetricians. What happens then? Will the ambulance be diverted? Will the woman be airlifted? If she goes to the ER to deliver, will ER physicians decide that practicing in Idaho carries too many risks, and also look for opportunities elsewhere?

I remember being shocked to learn how many women in 2020 were STILL dying during childbirth in this country(at a much higher rate than women in other developed countries). And that's with the availability of obstetricians.

Midwives do not have all the expertise of OBGYNs nor do they have access to the same level of equipment or facilities. It is cruelly ignorant to assume that "midwives can just step in" and this won't result in MORE deaths of pregnant women than we already had when we had the better doctors and facilities at our disposal.

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries

And that number continues to grow. KNOWING we have a big ass problem, nothing is done. Where is the outcry about this? Why are people not demonstrating about THESE lives being lost? All this attention about birth control and abortion but knowing these women are losing their lives at an ever increasing rate? Crickets.

this isn't faith.

This is insanity.

It's power and control through fear.

Now many of those same people say "well, isn't being 2SLGBTQIA+ insanity," etc, but there is actual scientific evidence, observed in other species in nature, and so on.

Years ago, the same people also said the human race was divinely divided into two races -- white and everybody else -- and no amount of scientific evidence would convince them otherwise.

More recently, they also claimed COVID-19 was a hoax, and/or that drinking bleach would "cure" it.

Their zeal blinds them from reality.

I sometimes forget everyone's not a problem solver/ 'solutionist'/ thinker/ writer/ humorist/ jokester/ joke getter/ satirist. Thoughtless of me. My apologies-

Truthfully though. The people are just going to have to follow the doctors right - or wrong - out of Idaho.

I can see it now coloured with humour, the way you intended.

It's a very troubling state of things, with actual lives on the line. Like, women are DYING and nobody is doing anything to stop it. That, added with a dash of 1. "Just use midwives" certainly sounds like a defense one might hear from the fascists trying to justify the Idaho abortion ban and 2. Tone does not carry very well through text. Combine all three factors and you get me and a few others simply missing your intent to be silly. ^^;;

Thank you kindly. You've got some nice points there.

If so many people weren't so hateful, my job (of loving) would be much easier. It may not even seem like such a job.

I'll attempt to do better at conveying my points.
I just don't like pointing. It's disappointing!

Hugs

:)

Everywhere

I think most midwives insist on having MDs & hospital available as Plan B for incidents- events / circumstances beyond their knowledge & skills.

Thank you for expressing my thoughts 10x better than I could when I went off the rails.

Idaho: where potatoes not only grow underground, but also walk the earth and make laws.

What is it with non-woke people and misogyny, anyway?

Wow, Idaho can't get a break, first the Nazis now this, also I might add I hate Idaho Nazis

As someone who grew up in Idaho and lives on the border with Washington, I wish the white supremacists and neo-nazis would relocate to the bottom of the Marianas Trench instead.

Call the storks!

So a woman is raped, a victim of incest, is carrying a child who is severely incapacitated and will need a lifetime of medical care, a mother who's own life is at risk, a doctor would be breaking laws by performing an abortion?