09.24.24

Cantwell Rejects GOP Claim That Abortion Bans Aren’t Dangerous: Idaho’s ‘Deserts of Gynecological Care’ Hurt Women & Doctors

At Senate committee hearing, Cantwell & colleagues hear from a PNW OB/GYN who left Idaho due to draconian laws; The post-Dobbs reality on the ground is undeniable: preventable deaths, women denied care, and growing health care deserts in anti-choice states that strain surrounding regions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance, attended a committee hearing titled “Chaos and Control: How Trump Criminalized Women’s Health Care,” which examined how the overturn of Roe v. Wade -- led by Supreme Court justices appointed by former President Donald Trump – is impacting providers and endangering women on the ground.

At the hearing, some witnesses called by Republicans, including a Texas-based lawyer, claimed that abortion bans do not prevent doctors from administering care to pregnant patients during emergencies that threaten the mother’s life. Her assertions are contradicted by a report released this week showing that a 28-year-old Georgia woman died in 2022 after doctors delayed a life-saving abortion. A state board concluded that her death was preventable. Another Georgia woman died because she was afraid to see a provider due to the abortion ban; the state board said that her death was also preventable. Women in other states have reported suffering extreme pain and anguish after being forced to wait for care. 

“I am dismayed at my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and even some of the witnesses, because you are saying this is either rhetoric, or hospitals do not understand the law,” Sen. Cantwell said. “I don't care what the lawyers are saying. This is what is happening on the ground. And the consequences that it is affecting these individuals and threatening their lives.”

She added that the lack of care in neighboring Idaho is driving a 50% increase in out-of-state abortion patients in Washington state, straining our own health care system.

“If you have deserts of gynecological care overall, it’s going to cause problems, not just for the women in Idaho, but for our region as well,” Sen. Cantwell said. “We want people to be able to see their physician.”

Among the panel of witnesses was Dr. Amelia Huntsberger, an OB/GYN and graduate of the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Huntsberger practiced in Sandpoint, Idaho, for nearly a decade before relocating her family to Oregon due to fear of prosecution under Idaho’s draconian abortion ban. Since the ban went into effect, 22% of Idaho’s OB/GYNs have left the state.

“Dr. Huntsberger, what more can we tell people about why one in five OB/GYNs are leaving?” Sen. Cantwell asked. “The lawyers are telling you [that] you don't have to worry about this, but you took a step to worry about it. Why did you take that step?”

“It was essential to me to provide the care my patients needed without government interference,” Dr. Huntsberger responded. “The circumstances doctors and patients find themselves in Idaho impacts everyone. Idaho has some of the lowest per capita number of physicians, so already there was a physician shortage, and this is being greatly exacerbated.”

Strict abortion bans enacted after the overturning of Roe v. Wade have created confusion around the treatment medical professionals can provide, even when a pregnant patient’s life or health is in danger. Providers fear they could be sued or prosecuted for providing abortion care, or even miscarriage treatment. 

In July, Sen. Cantwell, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and 14 women Democratic senators released a new report, Two Years Post-Dobbs: The Nationwide Impacts of Abortion Bans. The report, based on interviews and discussions with more than 80 health care providers and advocates on the front lines, detailed how the Dobbs decision is harming women’s health care in states across the U.S.  Among other troubling findings, the report detailed how abortion bans endanger women facing medical emergencies.  For example, the co-chair of the Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative said, “We’ve been flying out about a patient a week to Utah or Oregon or Washington, because the fetus is nonviable, or the life of the mother is at risk.”  The report also noted the conclusions of a STAT News analysis of abortions in Texas, which found that the number of women needing abortions in Texas is at least 400 per year for life emergencies and 2,400 per year for physical health risks – but that just 34 legal abortions were recorded in Texas during a six-month period in 2023. New research published this week found that the rate of maternal mortality cases in Texas increased by 56% from 2019 to 2022 – compared to 11% nationwide during that time period. Texas’s abortion ban went into effect in September 2021.

Sen. Cantwell continues to fight hard to defend reproductive freedom in Washington state and nationwide. A full timeline of her actions since a draft of the Dobbs decision was leaked in spring 2022, making clear the Supreme Court’s intent to overturn the longstanding reproductive care precedent established by Roe v. Wade, is available HERE.