Introduction

I have rarely met a person who does not have personal opinions about abortion. Many have opinions that are deeply held, and often these strong opinions are spiritually or religiously based. This article is not about personal, religious or spiritual beliefs. This article is not about any moral judgment, nor does it intend to answer hard questions about whether it is proper or improper for the government to try to “legislate morality.”  By polling, most Americans, and most Idahoans, see this issue as far more nuanced than Idaho law currently accommodates.[i]It speaks for itself that although many of our Idaho politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for expanding access to abortion care in Idaho, and many have expressed concern about the continued negative impact of our current bans, the Idaho legislature has not been able to agree on a path forward since our trigger bans took effect.[ii]

There are still a few legislators who would restrict our abortion laws further. They would remove even our extremely limited exceptions, and they would prosecute women criminally for having an abortion.[iii] If the morality of this nuanced issue was easy to legislate, we would have a lot more consensus on this issue in our statehouse, and particularly within the supermajority party controlling it. If the morality was easy to legislate, we would not have so many abortion statutes in Idaho that contradict each other, as I will explain further herein.

While Roe v. Wade[iv] remained the law of the land, we really did not have to discuss our laws surrounding abortion, and individual choices and tragic stories did not need to be shared, nor scrutinized. Privacy was respected. While the issue was frequently weaponized for political purposes, no matter what laws legislators drafted, Roe v. Wade limited the state’s authority to legislate. Today, we need to talk about it again, because we are seeing increasing harm come from harsh abortion bans nationwide and within Idaho. As has been widely reported, Idaho has seen a mass exodus of doctors and closures of labor and delivery units since our abortion bans have taken effect.[v] As the state that ranks dead last in the nation for per capita health care providers, these losses affect us all.[vi] Women, families, and doctors have also suffered mightily in Idaho, and all around the nation, as has been widely reported and litigated in the lawsuits that will be discussed in this article.

As lawyers, we are often the gatekeepers of this kind of legal information, and it is critical that we share it accurately and thoughtfully. I particularly invite you to explore the resources I have provided in the endnotes, to help you understand the medical and other societal implications of restricting abortion too severely. My hope is to give you accurate information about the current state of Idaho law to help you make informed decisions about what Idaho policy on reproductive rights should be.

Idaho’s Current Abortion Bans

The Defense of Life Act: Idaho Code § 18-622

In 2020, Idaho passed Senate Bill 1385, adding a new code section, Idaho Code § 18-622.[vii] The Statement of Purpose of the bill says it would become effective “when the United States Supreme court restores to the states their authority to prohibit abortion, or the United States Constitution is amended to restore to the states their authority to prohibit abortion.”[viii] This new Idaho abortion ban criminalizes all abortions at any stage of the pregnancy as a felony, carrying a two to five year prison sentence. Medical providers additionally risk loss of their medical license for six months for a first offense, and permanently for future offenses.

The bill as originally passed contained no exceptions, other than removing criminal liability for accidental or unintentional loss of fetal life. Instead of exceptions, the bill contained affirmative defenses for life of the mother, and rape and incest. The prosecutor was not required to show that an abortion fell outside of these affirmative defenses; the burden of proof was rather on the doctor to prove that the defense(s) applied to their case.

Life of the Mother Defense. This language of the total ban has been the subject of no less than five separate lawsuits filed since the Dobbs decision[ix] triggered this statute to take effect. It was recently litigated in a state court decision, and the Honorable Jason D. Scott, District Judge expanded the definition to help protect doctors and women, as I will discuss further below.[x] This language is currently still being litigated as part of a federal court action seeking to insert additional language to protect maternal health, and not just maternal life. It is also currently being litigated in the remaining EMTALA case brought by St. Luke’s Hospital.[xi]

The language of the bill as written is problematic for medical providers, who frankly did not understand at what point they would be “safe,” legally, to offer an abortion to their patient to treat serious medical complications. The statute allows abortion when a physician exercising “good faith medical judgment” finds that the abortion was “necessary to prevent the death of the mother.” Fearing the mother may self-harm is specifically excluded from this defense.[xii] Complicating the definition is additional language that states that the physician must provide “the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive,” unless the doctor can show that saving the fetus would pose a “greater risk of death” to the pregnant woman.[xiii]

Doctors cannot predict with precision how likely a patient is to die with a pregnancy complication. The language used in the bill not only encourages doctors to hesitate to provide care; the language requires it. Doctors must be able to say that they have done everything else possible to protect the fetus before terminating the pregnancy. It is the delay in providing care- the hesitation—that is costing pregnant patients their lives as they bleed out or die of sepsis with failing pregnancies.[xiv]

In 2023, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled in a 3-2 decision that the Idaho trigger bans were constitutional, following the reasoning of Dobbs.[xv] The Court held that the life of the mother language of the two controlling trigger bans imposes a subjective standard of medical decision making, and that it was not unconstitutionally vague even though the statute does not tell doctors exactly when they can or cannot perform an abortion.[xvi] As a result, and as was confirmed by the State of Idaho in oral argument to the United States Supreme Court in the EMTALA case last year, each medical decision will be judged on a case-by-case basis.[xvii] Given that there are doctors in America who will testify that abortion is “never” necessary to save the life or protect the health of the mother, a position that is hotly disputed by the medical community at large, Idaho doctors are understandably reluctant to make themselves the test case in a hard situation.[xviii]

The Idaho Supreme Court held that even though the original bill did not specifically exempt the termination of ectopic pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies were excluded by the definition of abortion as termination of a pregnancy that is “developing.”[xix] An ectopic pregnancy develops outside of the uterus, and therefore it has no chance of developing into a live born baby.  Ectopic pregnancies are life threatening to the mother, representing fifteen percent of all maternal mortality, and they can also result in loss of fertility if not addressed quickly.[xx] Given other definitions in the code that define a pregnancy or fetal life as beginning with fertilization, and with the medical understanding that ectopic pregnancies do “develop” until they can no longer develop, this legal clarification was important for patients and doctors.

In 2023, the Idaho legislature amended Idaho Code § 18-622 to make these exclusions for “non developing” pregnancies explicit, and it also included molar pregnancies. A molar pregnancy results from a fertilized egg that develops into abnormal tissue that can sometimes cause pregnancy symptoms and the development of some fetal tissue, but it will never develop into a live born baby.[xxi] The amendment also states that removal of a “dead unborn child” or the treatment of a woman “who is no longer pregnant” is not considered a criminal abortion. The amendment additionally provides that the defenses are no longer affirmative defenses, they are true exclusions, shifting the burden of proof back to the prosecutor.[xxii]

A miscarriage or pregnancy loss in progress is just as threatening to maternal health and life as a complete miscarriage. Previable and peri viable preterm rupture of membranes (“PPROM”), for example, will often result in a pregnancy that continues for a few more weeks or even months, with the baby dying slowly, and mother risks sepsis and other serious medical conditions as the pregnancy continues.[xxiii] Idaho law is very unclear as to when abortion care can be provided in a case of PPROM even when fetal survival is highly unlikely, or in any other situation where a miscarriage is in progress and is compromising or risking maternal health, but the fetal tones can still be detected.[xxiv]

It is also important to understand that this “life of the mother” defense does not include the termination of pregnancies involving lethal or catastrophic fetal anomalies. Catastrophic fetal anomalies are often not discovered until the midpoint of pregnancy with the 18–20-week ultrasound. In Idaho, these pregnancies cannot be terminated until or unless they become a risk to maternal life, to some unknown degree. Carrying such a pregnancy to term greatly increases risks to maternal health and life. It also causes serious mental and emotional trauma to pregnant patients and their families to be forced to carry these doomed pregnancies to term, or to seek care out of state.[xxv]

Rape and Incest Defenses. The total ban enacted in 2020 included extremely limited exceptions for rape and incest as defined by the Idaho criminal code. The difficulty with the defense as written is that the victim is required to report the crime to law enforcement or Child Protective Services and obtain a report from them to proceed with care. Additionally, the victim must act within the first trimester of pregnancy to obtain a legal abortion.[xxvi] These defenses, now designated as exclusions with the 2023 amendments, are problematic and largely unenforceable, for several reasons. There are very good reasons why victims of these kinds of crimes are reluctant to report. Justice is rare, and victims are re-traumatized in the process.[xxvii] As a practitioner who has represented child victims and the parents of child victims in child welfare court, child custody court, and the criminal courts, I can attest that the process is even less kind to children. Many victims lack the capacity and/or family or other emotional support to report. Governor Little expressed similar concerns with the 2022 trigger bans discussed further below, but he signed them into law regardless.[xxviii]

The Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act: Idaho Code § 18-8701

In 2021, Idaho enacted the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act. The statement of purpose is to prohibit abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, defined as six weeks into the pregnancy, with similar exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother to the bill passed the previous year. [xxix] The 2021 bill, however, would allow for abortion in a “medical emergency,” “to avert death, or for which a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.” [xxx]

The criminal penalties for HB 366 were identical to SB 1385, the trigger ban passed the previous year discussed above. The bill was passed as an apparent “insurance policy” if Idaho’s 2020 total ban did not survive an anticipated challenge to Roe v. Wade, but a six-week ban did.[xxxi] This bill stated that if Roe v. Wade was overturned, that the total ban bill passed the previous year would control.

The Amended Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act: Idaho Code § 18-8801

  In 2022, the Idaho legislature amended the bill they passed the previous year and renumbered the Idaho Code.[xxxii] The Amended bill is very similar to the language contained in the previous trigger bans, with one important addition. The 2022 trigger ban added a civil cause of action available to the close family members of an aborted fetus, with $20,000 minimum damages, and a four-year statute of limitations. The bill does not permit someone who committed rape or incest to sue civilly under this provision, but it does not prevent their family members from suing.

This bill allows more family members to have standing to sue than our Idaho wrongful death laws permit.[xxxiii] The bill further severely limits the ability of a defendant to collect attorneys’ fees and costs for frivolous litigation.[xxxiv] Like the bill passed the previous year, and unlike the 2020 total ban, this statute also contains an exception for medical emergencies that is broader than simply protecting maternal “life.” This bill explicitly states that if both the 2020 and the 2021 trigger bans became enforceable with the fall of Roe v. Wade, that the 2020 total ban outlined in Idaho Code § 18-622 would control, and this bill would only be effective to the extent they did not conflict.

The civil penalties portion of this bill was modeled on a similar Texas law, and it was designed with the specific intent to avoid or limit judicial review of its constitutionality.[xxxv] At the time this bill was amended by the Idaho legislature, the United States Supreme Court was already considering the Dobbs case,[xxxvi] and it had allowed this Texas abortion ban to be enforced,[xxxvii] signaling to court watchers that they may be prepared to limit or reverse Roe v. Wade.

In summary, the two trigger bans that apply in Idaho today are Idaho Code § 18-622, the total ban with criminal penalties and no health exception; and Idaho Code § 18-8801, the six week ban/“bounty hunter” civil penalties ban that contains a limited health exception for “medical emergencies.”

Other “Zombie” Laws Potentially Back in Play

Idaho’s abortion laws are a hodgepodge, and the civil and criminal penalty statutes are in three separate Chapters of Title 18. It is beyond the scope of this short article to discuss laws surrounding public funding for abortion, or the First Amendment issues involved with attempts to criminalize advertising or “promoting” of abortion. Generally, no taxpayer funds can be used for abortion care except to save maternal life or in cases of rape or incest.[xxxviii] No health care provider can be compelled to provide abortion care,[xxxix] but the State is not permitted to restrict anyone from talking about access to legal health care, including abortion.[xl]

Since 1973, Idaho has enacted statutes that challenged the holdings of Roe v. Wade but were still enforced under a Roe v. Wade standard.[xli] In 1998 Idaho passed a partial birth abortion ban,[xlii] in 2011 a 20-week Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,[xliii] and in 2015, a Chemical Abortion Ban.[xliv]

Practitioners should advise their clients to assume that all of Idaho’s abortion bans are enforceable, to the extent they are not inconsistent with Idaho Code §§ 18-622 and 18-8807.  One important question concerning the criminal liability of a pregnant patient who terminates her pregnancy remains. At common law, mothers were immune from criminal prosecution in Idaho and in most places around the country.[xlv] To abrogate a common law immunity, a legislature must speak with clarity. Idaho Code § 18-622, the 2020 total trigger ban, specifically preserves that common law immunity and exempts the pregnant patient from prosecution.[xlvi]

The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act also preserves this common law immunity against prosecuting pregnant women.[xlvii] However, one of the statutes passed by Idaho immediately after Roe v. Wade was decided, Idaho Code § 18-606, permits women to be prosecuted for abortion as a felony. It was declared unconstitutional by the 9^th Circuit in 2012, but it is unclear whether that holding survives the Dobbs decision.[xlviii] I would certainly argue that because Idaho indicated a clear intent that Idaho Code § 18-622 be the controlling criminal statute, and because when Idaho Code § 18-606 was enacted it was already unconstitutional, the Idaho legislature has not clearly abolished the common law immunity protecting women from criminal prosecution, and it intended in 2020 to preserve that immunity in the event Roe v. Wade was overturned.  As a practitioner, of course I urge caution, because we do not have any case law giving clarity.

Litigation

EMTALA

The EMTALA litigation could be its own article, as the issues are complex and the procedural history unusual. The basic theory of the case is that EMTALA requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide abortion care if necessary to stabilize a pregnant patient presenting in an emergency room, regardless of what Idaho law says.[xlix] The second Trump administration dismissed the federal case when it was remanded back to the 9^th Circuit from the United States Supreme Court, but St. Luke’s had already filed their own EMTALA case against Idaho as an insurance policy. Currently, we have an EMTALA injunction again in the newer St. Luke’s case, but this time Judge Winmill limited the injunction to apply only to St. Luke’s hospitals.[l] Because the first EMTALA case was fully briefed and argued both to the United States Supreme Court and to an en banc 9^th Circuit before the Trump administration reversed course, I would anticipate that this second EMTALA case progresses more quickly, procedurally.[li]

Adkins v. State of Idaho and Seyb v. Idaho Board of Medicine

Two private civil lawsuits have been filed in Idaho, both asking the courts to expand Idaho’s restrictive abortion bans to include maternal health and/or lethal fetal anomalies exceptions under constitutional theories.[lii] There has been some limited success with similar lawsuits filed in other states,[liii] but Idaho’s long history of regulating abortion strictly distinguishes us from other states.

The plaintiffs in the state lawsuit Adkins v. State of Idaho include four women who were forced to travel out of state to obtain medically indicated abortions for nonviable pregnancies.  Two doctors and the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians are also plaintiffs. The trial was broadcast, as these brave women and doctors want Idahoans to understand the specific harms caused to them by our strict abortion bans. I urge you to read the stories of these brave families and doctors, or to watch the trial, to fully understand the impact of restrictive abortion bans on the lives of women and families.[liv]

Judge Scott recently ruled in that case that doctors in Idaho cannot face criminal liability for providing an abortion whenever a woman faces a “nonnegligible” risk of death, so long as the doctor tried to preserve fetal life, but continuing the pregnancy would increase the risk of death for mother. This was a significant victory for the plaintiffs, and at the time of this writing, we are waiting for a decision about whether the State will appeal. This ruling does not help rape or incest victims, or anyone else who wishes to terminate a pregnancy for reasons that are not strictly medical and potentially lethal. It does not help women who seek to extend their life or protect their health unless the pregnancy increases the risk of them dying.[lv]

The plaintiff in the federal lawsuit Seyb v. Idaho Board of Medicine is a doctor who sued the enforcers of the Idaho criminal statute—the Idaho Board of Medicine, and Idaho prosecutors. At the time of this writing, the litigation is still in the pleading stage, with a Motion to Amend the Complaint currently pending.[lvi]

2026 Ballot Petition: The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act

Idahoans United for Women and Families has drafted a ballot petition for a revision of Idaho laws surrounding reproductive rights that should be circulating in Idaho later this year and probably by the time this article is published. [lvii] Assuming it gets the necessary signatures and meets other legal requirements, it should be on the Idaho ballot for the November 2026 elections. This statute would restore the standards of Roe v. Wade and still allow the State of Idaho to regulate abortion where it can show a “compelling state interest” to do so. This statute would additionally protect other reproductive rights including access to contraception, and access to assisted reproductive technology.[lviii]

Conclusion

The creation of life is beautiful and miraculous, and it is a choice I have made myself three times. In 2025, it is a choice that still carries with it profound and permanent life and health changes and risks.[lix] The rates of maternal mortality explode when abortion bans are too restrictive, all over the globe.[lx] Infant mortality also explodes when abortion bans are too restrictive.[lxi] Maternal and infant mortality declined dramatically in America after Roe v. Wade expanded abortion access nationwide, particularly for people of color.[lxii] Other serious harms short of death come to pregnant patients.[lxiii] Pregnancy and childbirth can cause devastating lifelong challenges, including organ damage; permanent cardiopulmonary dysfunction; high blood pressure; diabetes; stroke or other brain injuries, and much more.[lxiv]

Women who are denied access to abortion are far more likely to end up in poverty and in violent relationships, together with the children they must raise. Suicide and homicide remain leading causes of death for pregnant and post-partum women.[lxv] The socioeconomic impact of rigid abortion bans ripples throughout communities, as one new economic analysis finds that strict abortion bans drive people out of state permanently.[lxvi] Societies thrive when women are given full autonomy over their lives.[lxvii]

Idaho can support policies that promote women and families and that encourage responsible reproductive and informed choices without causing so much tragedy and collateral harm, and without expressing so much distrust of our mothers and our doctors.

Mary Shea is a shareholder at Merrill and Merrill, Chartered, in Pocatello, Idaho, where she primarily practices general civil litigation, with an emphasis on civil rights, family law, and child welfare law. Prior to joining Merrill and Merrill, Mary was the head instructor and program director for the Paralegal Studies Program at Idaho State University, and she also ran her own law practice. Before coming to Idaho in 1999, Mary worked for the Virginia Attorney General’s office primarily litigating federal civil rights cases and state tort actions in state and federal courts at all levels of trial and on appeal. Mary was also a law clerk for the Virginia Supreme Court for three years. Thinking and writing about abortion policy as an undergraduate studying moral and political philosophy at the College of William and Mary is what led Mary to law school. The changes in the law beginning in 2021 are what led Mary to advocacy. In her spare time Mary enjoys the scenic beauty of Idaho in every season.

[i] School of Public Service, 2025 Idaho Public Policy Survey, School of Public Service, https://www.boisestate.edu/sps/2025-idaho-public-policy-survey/.

Idahoans United for Women and Families, August 2022 Polling Memo: Research and Finishing in the Wake of Idaho’s Trigger Ban (2022).

Public Opinion on Abortion, Pew Research Center (May 13, 2024), https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/.

Gallup Inc, Abortion, Gallup.com (Jun. 22, 2007), https://news.gallup.com/poll/1576/Abortion.aspx.

[ii] Kyle Pfannenstiel, As Idaho Legislature Winds down, Republican Lawmakers Maintain Strict Abortion Bans • Idaho Capital Sun, Idaho Capital Sun (Mar. 17, 2025),  https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/03/17/as-idaho-legislature-winds-down-republican-lawmakers-maintain-strict-abortion-bans/.

Mia Maldonado, North Idaho Legislators Bring Bill to Add Health Exceptions to State’s Abortion Bans, Idaho Capital Sun, (March 21, 2025),  https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/03/21/north-idaho-legislators-bring-bill-to-add-health-exceptions-to-states-abortion-ban/.

Miki Meek, The Devil is in the Details.  And There are So Many Details.  Act 2 of The Bear at the End of the Tunnel, This American Life, October 20, 2023: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/812/the-bear-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/act-2-15

[iii] Richard Rodriguez & Tracy Bringhurst, Idaho Senator Proposes Bill to Remove Rape, Incest Exceptions from Abortion Laws, KTBV updated January 21, 2024:  https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/capitol-watch/local-idaho-senator-proposes-bill-remove-rape-incest-clause-from-abortion-laws/277-d1ceb554-ba01-4ed0-971a-594ceeee1632

Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho GOP Lawmaker Wants Women Charged with Murder for Seeking Abortions, End to Exceptions, Idaho Statesman, February 7, 2025:  https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article299790729.html

[iv] Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

[v] Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, Idaho’s OB-GYN Exodus Throws Women in Rural Towns into a Care Void • Idaho Capital Sun, Idaho Capital Sun (Jun. 25, 2024), https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/06/25/idahos-ob-gyn-exodus-throws-women-in-rural-towns-into-a-care-void/.

[vi] Tracy J. Farnsworth, Bold and Collaborative Approaches Are Needed to Solve Idaho’s Physician Shortage • Idaho Capital Sun, Idaho Capital Sun (Mar. 19, 2025), https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/03/19/bold-and-collaborative-approaches-are-needed-to-solve-idahos-physician-shortage/.

[vii]2020 SB1385:  https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2020/legislation/S1385.pdf; https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2020/legislation/S1385/

[viii] Id.

[ix] This article is presuming some familiarity with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), decision that overturned and removed the reproductive health care privacy rights embodied by Roe v. Wade.

[x] Adkins v. State of Idaho, CV01-23-14744. https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Judgment_Adkins-v-Idaho_4-11-25.pdf;  The Center for Reproductive Rights webpage:  Adkins v. State of Idaho | Center for Reproductive Rights.

[xi] The “life of the mother” defense was discussed by the Idaho Supreme Court at some length in Planned Parenthood Great Northwest v. State of Idaho, 522 P.3d 1132 (2023).  The language is also at issue in a lawsuit currently pending in the Idaho federal district court, Seyb v. Idaho Board of Medicine, 1:24-cv-00244 (District Court Idaho, Boise).  Seyb v. Idaho Board of Medicine – Health Care Litigation Tracker.  This language was central to the EMTALA case that the Trump administration recently abandoned, and it is at issue in the EMTALA case that is still ongoing brought by St. Luke’s.  See Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, 603 U.S. 324 (2024) and Idaho v. United States – Health Care Litigation Tracker; St. Luke’s Health System, LTD. v. Labrador, 1:25-cv-00015 (District Court Idaho, Boise) and St. Luke’s Health System, LTD. v. Labrador – Health Care Litigation Tracker.

[xii] The prospect of forced pregnancy does, in fact, cause some women to choose to end their own lives.  Suicide rates for women of reproductive age go up in jurisdictions with harsh abortion restrictions.  Zandberg, J., Waller, R., Visoki, E. & Barzilay, R. (2022). Association Between State-Level Access to Reproductive Care and Suicide Rates Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States. JAMA Psychiatry, Online First, doi:10.1001/JAMA psychiatry.2022.4394 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2799597;

[xiii] Idaho Code § 18-622(3)(a)(iii).

[xiv]Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana, A Third Woman Has Died Under Texas’ Abortion Ban as Doctors Reach for Riskier Miscarriage Treatments, The Texas Tribune, November 27, 2024: A third Texas woman has died under the state abortion ban | The Texas Tribune;

Kavitha Surana, Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care.  In Georgia, Experts Say this Mother’s Death was Preventable, ProPublica, September 16, 2024:  Under Georgia’s Abortion Ban, She Died After Delayed Care — ProPublica.

This is an excellent resource to understand how doctors in Idaho are struggling, very specifically, with the language of our abortion bans currently: Physicians for Human Rights, March 2024: https://phr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PHR_Idaho-Fact-Finding-Brief.pdf;  PHR_Idaho-Fact-Finding-Brief.pdf

[xv] Planned Parenthood Great Northwest v. State of Idaho, 522 P.3d 1132 (2023).

[xvi] 522 P.3d at 1200-1209.

[xvii] I highly recommend listening to this oral argument in its entirety. The State of Idaho admitted that even though the Idaho ban imposes a “subjective” standard, a prosecutor or civil plaintiff could find doctors who would challenge the reasonableness of that subjective medical judgment.  In my humble opinion, it was this concession that caused the United States Supreme Court to find they had improvidently granted certiorari, to reinstate the EMTALA injunction, and to send the case back down to the 9^th Circuit full panel without deciding the merits.  Idaho v. United States, 603 U.S. 324 (2024). supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2023/23-726

[xviii] Reuters Fact Check, Fact Check:  Termination of Pregnancy Can be Necessary to Save a Woman’s Life, December 27, 2021:  https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check/termination-of-pregnancy-can-be-necessary-to-save-a-womans-life-experts-say-idUSL1N2TC0VD/; Fact Check: Termination of pregnancy can be necessary to save a woman’s life, experts say | Reuters.

Abortion of a pregnancy after the point of fetal viability (24 weeks) is extremely rare.  In Idaho, we reported zero abortions after 21 weeks in 2021, the year before the Dobbs decision. 2021_Abortion_Annual_Report, https://publicdocuments.dhw.idaho.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=23522&dbid=0&repo=PUBLIC-DOCUMENTS&searchid=3ad7e277-33d7-4f48-aee3-731a3da5418b&cr=1 (last visited May 15, 2025).

Standard of care OB medicine is delivery after 24 weeks, even in a medical emergency.  Abortion is typically reserved for lethal and catastrophic fetal anomalies after fetal viability, and the Roe v. Wade standard allowed states to restrict abortion after viability to those that are medically necessary.  Ironically, it is abortion bans and reduced access to abortion that may be causing some women to seek abortion later in the pregnancy.  Ivette Gomez, Alina Salganicoff, and Laurie Sobel, Abortions Later in Pregnancy in a Post Dobbs Era, Women’s Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation, February 21, 2024;   Abortions Later in Pregnancy in a Post-Dobbs Era | KFF

[xix] 522 P.3d at 1202-1203; Idaho Code § 18-604(11).

[xx]   Elmoheen A, Salem W, Eltawagny M, Elmoheen R, Bashir K. The Largest Tubal Pregnancy: 14th Week. Case Rep Obstet Gynecol. 2020 May 20;2020:4728730. doi: 10.1155/2020/4728730. PMID: 32518701; PMCID: PMC7260646; The Largest Tubal Pregnancy: 14th Week – PMC

[xxi] The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Women’s Health Dictionary online:  https://www.acog.org/womens-health/dictionary.

[xxii] 2023 HB 374: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0374/;  HOUSE BILL 374 – Idaho State Legislature.

[xxiii] Shailija Dayal, Suzanne M. Jenkins, Peter L. Hong, Preterm and Term Prelabor Rupture of Membranes (PPROM and PROM) (Updated October 31, 2024) StatPearls [Internet] Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532888/.

[xxiv] Ashley N. Batterbee, MD, MSCR, Sarah S. Ombundson, MD, MS; Allison M. McCarthy, PhD; and Judith M. Louis, MD, MPH; Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Publications Committee; Endorsed by the Society of Family Planning June 2024; Endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) August 2024:  https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(24)00759-2/pdf; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #71: Management of previable and periviable preterm prelabor rupture of membranes.

[xxv] Maternal implications of fetal anomalies: a population-based cross-sectional study Atwani, Rula et al.American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, Volume 6, Issue 10, 101440; Maternal implications of fetal anomalies: a population-based cross-sectional study – American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM;

Nadine El-Bawab, Idaho Women Tearfully Recount Nonviable Pregnancy Diagnoses Under Total Abortion Ban, ABC News, November 12, 2024: https://abcnews.go.com/US/idaho-woman-tearfully-recounts-nonviable-pregnancy-diagnosis-total/story?id=115765542; Idaho women tearfully recount nonviable pregnancy diagnoses under total abortion ban – ABC News;

Tracy Smith, Texas Mother Kate Cox on the Outcome of Her Legal Fight For an Abortion, CBS News, January 14, 2024: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kate-cox-on-her-legal-fight-for-abortion-trisomy-18/;  Texas mother Kate Cox on the outcome of her legal fight for an abortion: “It was crushing” – CBS News;

Aria Bendix, Woman Suing Texas Over Abortion Ban Vomits on the Stand in Emotional Reaction During Dramatic Hearing, NBC News, July 19, 2023: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/woman-suing-texas-abortion-ban-vomits-on-stand-rcna95162l  Woman suing Texas over abortion ban vomits on the stand

Minyvonne Burke, Woman Carrying Fetus Without a Skull to Seek Abortion in Another State Following Louisiana Abortion Ban, NBC News, August 26, 2022: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-woman-carrying-fetus-skull-seek-abortion-another-state-rcna45005 Woman carrying fetus without a skull to seek abortion in another state following Louisiana ban.

[xxvi] 2020 SB 1385:  https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2020/legislation/S1385/; Idaho Code § 18-622 was amended in 2023 to provide that law enforcement must issue a report of some kind within seventy-two hours to allow a victim to obtain an abortion.  The amendment does not help victims, because one of the reasons that police reports are withheld during an investigation is to avoid alerting the perpetrator that a crime has been reported.  Doing so can heighten the danger, especially for child victims, until law enforcement or child protective act services has gathered enough evidence to protect them, if that is even possible.

[xxvii] Associated Press, Boise State Public Radio News, Idaho’s Rape Charges Rarely Result in Sex Crime Convictions, July 25, 2017: https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/law-justice/2017-07-25/idahos-rape-charges-rarely-result-in-sex-crime-convictions;  Idaho’s Rape Charges Rarely Result In Sex Crime Convictions | Boise State Public Radio

Morgan Romero, ‘I Had Very High Hopes’: Understanding the Challenges of a Rape Conviction, KTVB, February 22, 2024: https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/investigations/7-investigates/special-report-charges-vs-convictions-ada-county-unprosecuted-rapes-victim-story-court-battle-idaho-coalition/277-a2c4cc53-64e5-41a4-9915-5f71cb8a1eff;  ‘I had very high hopes’: Understanding the challenges of a rape conviction | ktvb.com

Ruth Brown, Untested Rape Kit Backlog in Idaho Cleared After 5 Years, Idaho Reports, December 29, 2021: https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org/2021/12/29/untested-rape-kit-backlog-in-idaho-cleared-after-5-years/; Untested rape kit backlog in Idaho cleared after 5 years – Idaho Reports;

Lauren Mascarenhas, Experts Explain How Abortion Ban Exceptions For Rape and Incest are Inaccessible in Practice, CNN October 19, 2024;  https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/19/us/abortion-ban-states-rape-exception/index.html.

[xxviii] Letter to the Honorable Janice McGeachin, President of the Senate, from the Honorable Brad Little, Governor, March 23, 2022; SB 1309 and SB 1358:

https://gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/transmittal_s1309_s1358_2022-1.pdf.

[xxix] Medically, pregnancy is not detectable and is not diagnosed until a fertilized egg has implanted in the uterus, which begins the production of hormones necessary to sustain the development of the blastocyst into a fetus. Rachel Benson Gold, The Implications of Defining When a Woman is Pregnant, The Guttmacher Institute Report on Public Policy, May 2003: https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/article_files/gr080207.pdf; The Implications of Defining When a Woman Is Pregnant.

The electrical activity that can be detected in an early embryo is not yet a “heartbeat,” because the embryo does not yet have a heart.  After being diagnosed, a pregnancy is measured in weeks beginning with the first day of the pregnant patient’s last menstrual cycle, meaning that a six-week pregnancy, in medical terms, is only three-four weeks after fertilization.  It is true, however, that detecting this electric activity early in the pregnancy is a good indicator that the pregnancy will continue to develop, and there is less risk of an early spontaneous abortion, also known as miscarriage.

Evans DP, Narasimhan S. A Narrative Analysis of Anti-abortion Testimony and Legislative Debate Related to Georgia’s Fetal “Heartbeat” Abortion Ban.  Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2020 Dec;28(1):1686201.

doi: 10.1080/26410397.2019.1686201. PMID: 31892281; PMCID: PMC7887961:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7887961

A narrative analysis of anti-abortion testimony and legislative debate related to Georgia’s fetal “heartbeat” abortion ban – PMC.

[xxx]2021 HB 366:   https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2021/legislation/H0366/

[xxxi]Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Geoffrey Skelley, What Amy Comey Barrett’s Confirmation Could Mean for Roe v. Wade, FiveThirtyEight, October 15, 2020:  https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-amy-coney-barretts-confirmation-could-mean-for-roe-v-wade/;

What Amy Coney Barrett’s Confirmation Could Mean For Roe v. Wade | FiveThirtyEight.

Sahil Kapur, Trump Says ‘I Was Able to Kill Roe v. Wade’, NBC News, May 17, 2023:  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-was-able-kill-roe-v-wade-rcna84897;

Trump says ‘I was able to kill Roe v. Wade’ in social media post.

[xxxii]2022 SB 1309:   https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2022/legislation/S1309/

[xxxiii] SB 1309 permits the mother, the father, grandparents, siblings, or aunts or uncles of the “preborn child” to sue for damages.  Idaho Code § 18-8807(1). Idaho’s wrongful death act limits actions to intestate decedents or the spouse, children, stepchildren, and parents, and to other family members who might be financially dependent on the decedent.  Idaho Code § 5-311(2).

[xxxiv] Idaho Code § 18-8807(3).  The 2025 Idaho legislature passed an amendment to this statute to help protect defendants against frivolous litigation by permitting a quick dismissal, but it did not restore a defendant’s rights to collect legal fees and costs if they have provided an abortion in violation of Idaho Code § 18-8803 or § 18-8804.  https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/S1171/.

[xxxv] Emma Bowman, As States Ban Abortion, the Texas Bounty Law Offers a Way to Survive Legal Challenges, NPR, July 11, 2022: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/11/1107741175/texas-abortion-bounty-law;

As states ban abortion, the Texas bounty law offers a way to survive legal challenges : NPR.

[xxxvi] CNN, Read:  Transcript of supreme Court Oral Arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, December 1, 2021: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/politics/read-transcript-dobbs-jackson-womens-health/index.html;

Transcript of Supreme Court oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health | CNN Politics.

[xxxvii] Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson, 595 U.S. 30 (2021).

[xxxviii] The Hyde Amendment: An Overview, Congress.Gov, July 20, 2022: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12167;  The Hyde Amendment: An Overview | Congress.gov | Library of Congress;

Idaho Code § 18-8705 “No Public Funds for Abortion Act” 2021.

[xxxix] United States Department of Health and Human Services, Conscience and Religious Freedom, Your Protections Against Discrimination Based on Conscience and Religion: https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/your-protections-against-discrimination-based-on-conscience-and-religion/index.html;  Your Protections Against Discrimination Based on Conscience and Religion | HHS.gov; Idaho has protected providers in the abortion context since 1973.  Idaho Code §§ 18-611 and 18-612.

[xl] The Ninth Circuit recently reversed an injunction that prevented enforcement of Idaho’s “Abortion Trafficking Law,” Idaho Code § 18-623, which applies only to minors who cross state lines to obtain an abortion without parental consent.  In so doing, the Court upheld the injunction to the extent the statute’s prohibition against “recruiting” minors to obtain abortions chilled protected speech.  The Court also took some issue with the Idaho legislature’s use of the word “trafficking.”  Matsumoto v. Labrador, No. 23-3787, 12/02/2024, DktEntry: 66.1 (9^th Cir. 2024).

The Idaho Code contains a law that is like the federal 1873 Comstock Act.  Idaho Code § 18-603.  The 2021 No Public Funds for Abortion Act similarly purports to restrict speech about abortion in Idaho.  Idaho Code § 18-8707.  Violations are punishable as a “misuse of public moneys” misdemeanor or felony pursuant to Idaho Code § 18-5702, with additional civil penalties including loss of employment and restitution. However, the United States Supreme Court has long held that talking about legal activities, including legal abortion, is constitutionally protected under the 1^st Amendment.  Bolger v. Young’s Drug Products, Corp., 463 U.S. 60 (1983); Carey v. Population Services International, 431 U.S. 678 (1977). Abortion remains legal in Idaho under narrow circumstances, and it remains legal in other states in much more expansive circumstances. We can talk about it.

[xli] Idaho Code §§ 18-605, 18-608.

[xli] Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Roe v. Wade held that states could not restrict abortion up to the point of viability, at the time defined as the third trimester, except as necessary to protect maternal health and life.  After viability, the states were permitted to restrict abortion as permissible only when necessary to protect maternal health and life, and maternal health was defined very broadly.  This holding was modified in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), which upheld the privacy right articulated by Roe v. Wade, but permitted states to regulate abortion provided the laws did not impose an “undue burden” on the right to abortion.

Viability defined for purpose of Roe v. Wade specifically refers to the time when a fetus can survive outside of the uterus. It is a medical determination made on a case-by-case basis, and today it is generally understood to be between 22-24 weeks, depending on the medical capabilities of the facility and the health of the pregnancy. Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379, 388-89 (1979); American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Facts are Important: Understanding and Navigating Viability:

https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/understanding-and-navigating-viability#:~:text=While%20there%20is%20no%20single; Facts Are Important: Understanding and Navigating Viability | ACOG.

[xlii] Idaho Code § 18-613.  The United States Supreme Court upheld the federal partial birth abortion ban in 2007, with a strongly worded dissent from Justice Ginsberg.  Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007).  Because of the federal ban, Idaho’s partial birth ban is largely moot.

[xliii] Idaho Code § 18-501 et seq.  Medical science generally agrees that a fetus does not develop neurologic pathways to feel “pain” in utero until 24-25 weeks, and even then, while in the womb the fetus does not experience “pain” the way we understand it.  The science is, however, still unsettled.  Kelly Servick, Consciousness Before Birth? Imaging Studies Explore the Possibility, Science, March 10, 2025:   https://www.science.org/content/article/consciousness-birth-imaging-studies-explore-possibility

[xliv] Idaho Code § 18-617.  This code chapter also contains a private cause of action.  Idaho Code § 18-618.

[xlv] State v. Ashley, 701 So.2d 338 (Florida 1997) (and cases cited therein).  Today, it appears that no state with strict abortion laws explicitly criminalizes a woman for abortion. Amanda Stirone Mansfield, J.D., Pro-Life Laws Exempt Women from Prosecution: An Analysis of Abortion Statutes in 27 States, Lozier Institute, January 10, 2024: https://lozierinstitute.org/pro-life-laws-exempt-women-from-prosecution-an-analysis-of-abortion-statutes-in-27-states/;   Pro-Life Laws Exempt Women from Prosecution: An Analysis of Abortion Statutes in 27 States – Lozier Institute.

[xlvi] Idaho Code § 18-622(5).

[xlvii] Idaho Code §§ 18-507 and 18-508(3).

[xlviii] McCormack v. Hiedeman, 694 F.3d 1004, 1015 (9^th Cir. 2012).

[xlix] United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), Last Updated September 11, 2024:  https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/featured/emtala/;  The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) | Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[l] Aabshar Ghassi, US Judge Grants Temporary Block on Idaho’s Near Total Abortion Ban, Jurist News, March 23, 2025:  https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/03/us-judge-grants-temporary-block-on-idahos-near-total-abortion-ban/; US judge grants temporary block on Idaho’s near-total abortion ban – JURIST – News.

[li] Idaho v. United States – Health Care Litigation Tracker; https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/idaho-petitioner-vs-united-states/.

[lii] See Endnotes 10 &11, supra.

[liii] Recent Case Highlights – Center for Reproductive Rights; https://reproductiverights.org/our-work/case-highlights/.

[liv] Adkins v. State of Idaho – Center for Reproductive Rights; https://reproductiverights.org/case/emergency-exceptions-abortion-bans-idaho-tennessee-oklahoma/adkins-v-state-of-idaho/; https://youtu.be/Y05WPvusotk?si=T5P5pfXZfzj0R0Yy (First Day).

If you are not familiar with Idaho Pro Voice Project, I would recommend this source to you for hearing other firsthand accounts of abortion experiences in Idaho. https://www.theprovoiceproject.com/;  The Pro-Voice Project // In Defiance of Silence // Reproductive Rights in Idaho.

[lv] A woman in Florida facing a glioblastoma diagnosis, for example, would have been denied the right to obtain cancer treatment to prolong her life during a pregnancy, or to obtain an abortion, because her diagnosis was nearly certain to be fatal ultimately, regardless of that treatment and regardless of whether the pregnancy was terminated.  Before Florida’s abortion ban became effective, she and her family chose to terminate her pregnancy so she could enjoy some remaining months or years with the family she already had.  In Idaho, it remains unclear whether Judge Scott’s ruling would allow a patient like her to choose the cancer treatment at the expense of her pregnancy.

Tess Stuart, Desantis Seeks to Silence Brain Cancer Patient Speaking Out About Her Abortion, Rolling Stone, October 8 2024. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/desantis-brain-cancer-patient-abortion-1235128999/.

[lvi] Seyb v. Idaho Board of Medicine – Health Care Litigation Tracker; https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/seyb-v-idaho-board-of-medicine/.

[lvii] The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act found at Idahoans United for Women and Families website:  https://www.iduwf.org/policy.

[lviii] The new Idaho criminal and civil abortion bans protect contraception and IVF, even though both statutes also define a pregnancy and fetal life to begin at fertilization.  Idaho Code §§ 18-622;18-8801 et seq. There are legislators in Idaho who would limit or restrict some forms of birth control and IVF, and the official Idaho GOP platform threatens IVF.

2024-2026 Idaho Republican Party Platform:  https://idgop.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/2024-2026-Idaho-Republican-Party-Platform-1.pdf;

Tessa Stuart, Yes, Republicans Really are Coming for IVF: GOP Lawmakers are Targeting Fertility Treatments in Idaho, Texas, and Elsewhere, Rolling Stone, June 22, 2024: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/idaho-republicans-ivf-texas-alabama-1235044847/; Yes, Republicans Really Are Trying to End IVF;

Ian Max Stevenson, After Roe Decision, Idaho Lawmakers May Consider Restricting Some Contraception, Idaho Statesman, May 10, 2022:

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article261207007.html; Idaho Legislature may pursue contraception restrictions | Idaho Statesman.

[lix] Vogel, Jung, Lavin, Simpson, Kluwgant, Abalos, et al., Neglected Medium-Term and Long Term Consequences of Labour and Childbirth:  A Systemic Analysis of the Burden, Recommended Practices, and a Way Forward, Volume 12 Issue 2 The Lancet Global Health, E217-E330, February 2024.   https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(23)00454-0/fulltext;

Anna North, How Dangerous is it Really to Have a Baby In America? The Debate Over Maternal Deaths, Explained, Vox, July 1, 2024: https://www.vox.com/health/356794/pregnancy-health-maternal-mortality-pregnant-cdc;  How dangerous are pregnancy and childbirth in America? | Vox;

Departmental Update, More Than a Third of Women Experience Lasting Health Problems After Childbirth, New Research Shows, World Health Organization, December 7, 2023: https://www.who.int/news/item/07-12-2023-more-than-a-third-of-women-experience-lasting-health-problems-after-childbirth;  More than a third of women experience lasting health problems after childbirth, new research shows

Kasia Bogdanska, Severe Complications for Women During Childbirth Are Skyrocketing – and Could Often Be Prevented, ProPublica, December 22, 2017:  https://www.propublica.org/article/severe-complications-for-women-during-childbirth-are-skyrocketing-and-could-often-be-prevented; Severe Complications for Women During Childbirth Are Skyrocketing — and Could Often Be Prevented — ProPublica.

[lx] Vilda, Wallace, Daniel, Evans, Stoecker, Theall, State Abortion Polices and Maternal Death in the United States, 2015-2018, American Journal of Public Health September 2021; https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306396.

See Singh and Ratham, The Influence of Abortion Legislation on Maternal Mortality, 63 Supplement 1 International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, pp. S123-S129 (December 1998).

[lxi] Gemmill A, Franks AM, Anjur-Dietrich S, et al. US Abortion Bans and Infant Mortality. JAMA. Published online February 13, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.28517; https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2830298

John Yang , Andrew Corkery, Harry Zahn, Why Both Abortion and Infant Mortality Rates Have Gone Up in post-Roe America, PBS News November 3, 2024: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-both-abortion-and-infant-mortality-rates-have-gone-up-in-post-roe-america; Why both abortion and infant mortality rates have gone up in post-Roe America | PBS News Weekend.

[lxii] Cates, Grimes, Schultz, The Public Health Impact of Legal Abortion: 30 Years Later, Vol. 35 Issue 1, Perspectives on sexual and Reproductive Health, pp. 25-28, January/February 2003; The Public Health Impact of Legal Abortion: 30 Years Later | Guttmacher Institute.

[lxiii] Pregnancy Related Deaths Are on the Rise, and Sepsis is a Big Reason, NIH Medline Plus Magazine, May 30, 3034: https://magazine.medlineplus.gov/article/pregnancy-related-deaths-are-on-the-rise-and-sepsis-is-a-big-reason;

Janani S. Jayakumaran, Meike Schuster, Cande V. Ananth,  260: Postpartum Hemorrhage and its risk of Maternal Deaths in the US, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, February 6, 2020: https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(19)31646-1/fulltext;

260: Postpartum Hemorrhage and its risk of Maternal deaths in the US – American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

[lxiv] Lauren Bavis, ‘4^th Trimester’ Problems Can Have Long-Term Effects On a Mom’s Health, NPR January 24, 2019:  https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/24/686790727/fourth-trimester-problems-can-have-long-term-effects-on-a-moms-health; Health Effects Of Pregnancy Can Last a Lifetime : Shots – Health News : NPR.

[lxv] Salma Elakbawy, Emme Rogers & Salma Elakbawy and Emme Rogers, The Economic Fallout of Reproductive Rights Restrictions on Women’s Futures – IWPR, (Mar. 1, 2024), https://iwpr.org/the-economic-fallout-of-reproductive-rights-restrictions-on-womens-futures/, https://iwpr.org/the-economic-fallout-of-reproductive-rights-restrictions-on-womens-futures/.

Christine Clark and Emme Rogers, The Causal Relationship Between Contraception, Abortion, and Economic Well-Being, Institute for Women’s Policy Research #B390, December 2023:  https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IWPR-Abortion-Landscape-Brief-2023.pdf;

Hajdu G, Hajdu T. The Long-Term Impact of Restricted Access to Abortion on Children’s Socioeconomic Outcomes. PLoS One. 2021 Mar 15;16(3):e0248638. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248638. PMID: 33720972; PMCID: PMC7959378; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7959378/;

Caroline Orr Bueno, How Abortion Access Can Save Women From Violence, New Republic, December 15, 2021:  https://newrepublic.com/article/164711/abortion-bans-violence-against-women; How Abortion Access Can Save Women From Violence | The New Republic;

Diana Green Foster, PhD, M. Antonia Biggs, PhD, Heather Gould, MPH, Katrina Kimport, PhD, Sarah Raifman, Phd, MSc, Lauren Ralph, PhD, MPH, Gretchen Sisson, PhD, Ushma Upadhyay, PhD, MPH, Gretchen Sisson, PhD, Ushma Upadhyay, PhD, MPH, Katie Woodruff, DrPH, The Turnaway Study, ANSIRH (Ongoing):  https://www.ansirh.org/research/ongoing/turnaway-study; The Turnaway Study | ANSIRH

Suicide remains a leading cause of death for women in the year following childbirth.  Chin K, Wendt A, Bennett IM, Bhat A. Suicide and Maternal Mortality. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2022 Apr;24(4):239-275. doi: 10.1007/s11920-022-01334-3. Epub 2022 Apr 2. PMID: 35366195; PMCID: PMC8976222;

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8976222/; Suicide and Maternal Mortality – PMC

[lxvi] Melissa Holly Mahoney, The Economic and Workforce Impact of Restrictive Abortion Laws:  Why Access to Reproductive Health Care Matters to Employers, The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, October 2024: https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Economic-and-Workforce-Impact-of-Restrictive-Abortion-report_2024.pdf;   The-Economic-and-Workforce-Impact-of-Restrictive-Abortion-report_2024.pdf;

Aimee Picchi, Abortion Bans Linked to People Moving Out of State, Study Says, CBS News, January 10, 2025:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abortion-ban-laws-linked-to-people-leaving-states-research/; Abortion bans linked to people moving out of state, study says – CBS News.

[lxvii] Melinda French Gates, The Moment of Lift, Flatiron Books, April 23, 2019.