OB-GYN testifies on how Idaho’s abortion ban led to her move to Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — A gynecologist who relocated from Idaho to Oregon has spoken out about how Roe V. Wade’s reversal has impacted providers and patients in states with and without abortion bans.

On Tuesday morning, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing on how the Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to establish their own abortion regulations has led to changes in health care.

Places like Idaho have banned nearly all abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest and if a doctor determines a patient would die while attempting to birth a child.

Committee Chairman and Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden alleged that policies like these have led to injuries, worsened health conditions or death for pregnant people who have been denied emergency medical care in certain states.

He also stated the decision has forced lawyers to act as doctors and doctors to act as lawyers, as both sides struggle to interpret the law.

Amelia Huntsberger, a medical doctor who was based in rural Idaho for 11 years before moving to Eugene, testified her own experience.

“It was essential for me to be able to provide the health care that my parents needed without government interference,” Huntsberger said. “As [Democratic Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell] alluded to, the really challenging circumstances that both pregnant parents and doctors find themselves in in Idaho puts everyone at risk.”

She added that Idaho’s pre-existing maternity care desert has been exacerbated by the recent abortion regulations.

On the opposing side, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists CEO Christina Francis asserted that any confusion among lawyers or doctors is due to “dangerous political rhetoric” from “pro-abortion politicians and the media.”

In response, Sen. Maria Cantwell argued the impact of the Dobbs decision is due to “real-life facts,” rather than rhetoric. The senator co-led a report on the ruling’s effects earlier this year.

She said one out of five OB/GYNs in Idaho have left due to its abortion regulations.

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