Idaho Physician Stories
Ethically obligated
At the very least, I would have to give up OB.
Clouded by the laws that we’re working under
There is rarely a pregnancy loss situation that doesn’t feel clouded by the laws that we’re working under.
Moral distress
But things can come up in any pregnancy and the laws affect all of them, whether wanted or unwanted.
Lawmakers: “You all have to figure it out.”
What are we supposed to do now? And the answer we got was, “Well, you all have to figure it out.”
I’m not going to escape even if I leave
I felt so much uncertainty about my decision to stay. As time went on, seeing the writing on the wall for the country—this wasn't the only state where this was happening.
These laws are not helping people
Where I trained, it was the opposite. It was amazing to see how much we could help, and impact, in so many ways.
We support patients in their choices
We are not making unilateral decisions. We should be a safe space for you, in order to move forward.
We don’t have enough OBs
Idaho is unique in that we rely heavily on Family Doctors to provide OB care, particularly in rural areas.
We don’t have the capacity
There are a lot of urgent or emergent things that cause routine things to get pushed out.
Is it safe to ask about an abortion?
One of the biggest things is that, if people don’t know, they are scared to ask.
MaryAlice’s Story
“When I was in medical school, I kept trying to like other specialties more. But I kept coming back to women’s health.”
OBGYN MaryAlice Lopez speaks about the barriers created by Idaho's abortion bans and her role as both physician and educator. Many patients lack knowledge about pregnancy and are afraid to ask due to the state laws. In addition, routine appointments are being scheduled farther out because fewer doctors are available. All of this takes heavy tolls on doctors who remain in Idaho, because they're people too.
Kristen & Loren’s Story
“As the laws progressed, there were a lot of questions like, I don’t know if I can carry babies to term.”
Miscarriage is common, and Idaho's laws unnecessarily create serious health and financial risks for pregnant people. Kristen and Loren discuss their experiences with infertility, multiple miscarriages, denial of legal routine care, and how this informs Dr Colson's work as an FMOB in Idaho.
Lawmakers: “We’re not doctors.”
Anytime you legislate medical care, you should probably be ready for what your contingency plan is going to be for how that legislation is going to change the medical landscape.
If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one.
I love helping families. My job is taking difficult situations—whether it’s diabetes, heart conditions, preterm labor—and improving outcomes.
You can’t get that here.
She said, well, if I ever did get pregnant, I would just not continue the pregnancy. I’d get an abortion.
Safety Considerations
I’ve had conversations with my spouse about safety, like, are you okay with me continuing to do this kind of work?
That’s prison time
We’re trained and we have the medical knowledge to practice OB.
What we do is so nuanced
There's no way to detail it all out so that it works in every scenario.