GOP tries to cut Idaho women’s last lifeline

By Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise
Reader Contributor

Recently we’ve seen whiplash-inducing developments in the legal battle over women’s health in Idaho, but the underlying story is unchanged. Republican politicians are willing to force women to endure horrific health consequences rather than allow medically necessary abortions, and will happily burn through mountains of taxpayer dollars along the way. 

Let’s revisit how we got here. In 2020, GOP legislators passed an abortion trigger ban to take effect immediately should Roe ever be overturned. This ban contained no health exception. Abortion is only permitted where “necessary” to prevent certain death — not where necessary to prevent loss of a woman’s body organs, possible death, paralysis, permanent loss of fertility or other health catastrophes. As one Republican Committee Chair recently told The New York Times, GOP legislators never looked that closely at the language of that bill, assuming Roe would never be overturned. 

But the dog caught the car. Roe was overturned, and suddenly doctors in Idaho faced five years in prison for administering abortions to address health emergencies. The U.S. Justice Department soon filed suit arguing that, under a 1985 federal law signed by President Ronald Reagan, hospitals receiving federal funds must provide stabilizing care, including abortions if medically appropriate, to people experiencing health emergencies. This put doctors in a bind — if they don’t provide an abortion to address a health emergency, they violate federal law, but if they do perform the abortion they face prison under Idaho law. 

Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise. File photo.

When laws conflict, federal law prevails. So, while Judge B. Lynn Winmill upheld Idaho’s abortion ban in almost all instances, he ordered a very narrow exception for medical emergencies requiring an abortion to avoid serious adverse health consequences. 

You would think that anyone who values women’s safety would be relieved that a court put a common-sense safety valve into Idaho’s wildly overbroad and dangerous ban, and that even abortion opponents would drop the matter at this point; because, to be clear, the only legal issue in dispute was whether women experiencing health emergencies can receive an abortion that would save them. 

Astoundingly, Idaho’s GOP politicians vowed to overturn the Winmill order no matter the cost, to ensure that even women facing catastrophic health crises cannot receive an abortion. Not content with having the attorney general litigate the case, GOP legislators spent almost a half million dollars hiring a second team of private lawyers for the sole purpose of denying abortions to women facing medical emergencies. 

They managed to get the appeal in front of a panel of Donald Trump-appointed judges, which on Sept. 29 overturned Winmill’s order, meaning that even in a medical emergency doctors face prison for acting to save a woman’s health. But in a quick turnaround, the Ninth Circuit reinstated the Winmill order until a further hearing. 

At least for now, women and doctors in Idaho have a shred of protection when medical crises arise requiring abortion. But GOP politicians are doing everything in their power to eradicate that last safeguard. 

As long as Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and his legislative allies press this appeal, Idahoans can’t truly win. If Labrador ends up losing the appeal, taxpayers will bear the cost of still another losing lawsuit. If he prevails it’s even worse, because “winning” means subjecting women with pregnancy complications to grave bodily harm and expediting the exodus of doctors from our state. 

But there is another option — Labrador and GOP legislators can voluntarily drop this appeal at any time. It is past time for the madness to stop. Judge Winmill threw Idaho women a lifeline. Let’s take it.

Rep. Ilana Rubel is a Democratic lawmaker from Boise, serving as House minority leader and on the Health and Welfare, Resources and Conservation, Transportation and Defense, and Ways and Means committees.