State of Idaho Tries to Dismiss Women Denied Abortions in Dire Situations
10.31.23 (PRESS RELEASE) – Today, the State of Idaho asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of four women who were denied abortions despite severe pregnancy complications (Adkins v. State of Idaho). An OB-GYN, a family medicine physician, and the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
In its motion to dismiss, the State attempts to deny and minimize the life-threatening circumstances pregnant people continue to face under Idaho’s extreme abortion restrictions. They overlook the four women’s harrowing experiences of being denied abortions despite fatal fetal conditions and the ensuing threats to their health and lives. Instead, the State writes that “the legislature has made a policy decision fully within its constitutional authority to ’prefer, by all legal means, live childbirth over abortion,’ even in cases in which a physician believes that the child will die shortly after birth.”
In response, the Center for Reproductive Rights and lead plaintiff Jennifer Adkins have issued the following statements:
“Learning that I would lose my pregnancy was devastating,” said Jennifer Adkins, lead plaintiff in the case. “But on top of that, Idaho’s laws put my life at risk and compounded my heartbreak. The reason I am suing my state is to make sure this doesn’t happen again to me or to others. The humane response would be for Idaho officials to acknowledge the harm these laws are causing and to expand the exceptions in their abortion ban. Instead, the Attorney General is literally trying to dismiss me and the other women in this case. It’s degrading and insulting. The state of Idaho doesn’t care about pregnant people.”
“We’re appalled that the state is refusing to take accountability for the suffering their laws are causing,” said Gail Deady, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Idaho lawmakers put these women through the unthinkable and now the State wants them thrown out of court. No one should be forced to risk their life or health for a pregnancy. No one should be forced to continue a pregnancy knowing the fetus will not survive. These are basic human rights principles we should all agree on, but the state of Idaho is actively fighting against such protections. These bans are driving Idaho’s entire maternal health care system to the brink of collapse and endangering all pregnant Idahoans—a fact state officials refuse to address or even acknowledge.”
You can read more about each plaintiff here.
Adkins v. State of Idaho was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in September 2023, asking the court to clarify what circumstances qualify under the “medical emergency” exceptions in Idaho’s abortion bans. The confusing language and non-medical terminology in these bans have left doctors uncertain when they are legally able to provide abortion care. It’s unclear how sick or near-death a patient must be before a doctor can intervene, or whether abortion is permitted when the fetus has a fatal condition.
The confusion and chaos created by these bans has resulted not only in patients fleeing the state, but doctors as well. This exodus of ob-gyns is creating maternal health care deserts throughout Idaho, with some pregnant people driving over four hours just to reach a hospital with a labor-and-delivery unit. Since the bans took effect, two Idaho hospitals have closed their labor-and-delivery centers due to physicians resigning over Idaho’s restrictive abortion bans.
The lawsuit was filed by the Center, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and Nevin, Benjamin & McKay LLP on behalf of plaintiffs Jennifer Adkins; Jillaine St.Michel; Kayla Smith; Rebecca Vincen-Brown; Emily Corrigan, M.D.; Julie Lyons, M.D.; and the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians. Defendants in the case are the State of Idaho, Attorney General Raul Labrador, and the Idaho Board of Medicine.
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