A hospital in Idaho announced on Friday that it would no longer offer pregnancy care because of current doctor shortages caused by what it described as the current “political climate.”
Bonner General Health, located in the city of Sandpoint, shared a press release on Friday announcing the discontinuation of the services at the hospital, which saw 265 babies delivered in 2022. The services will be halted at Bonner General starting in May.
“Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult,” the press release said.
The hospital, which services much of rural North Idaho, explained the move in its release, saying that part of the decision comes from its lost pediatric coverage and a decrease in yearly deliveries.
However, the hospital says those factors were exacerbated by a recent Idaho law that criminalizes abortion care and has forced physicians out of the state. Because of this, Bonner General had no choice but to end its obstetric care.
“The Idaho legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care,” the release said. “Consequences for Idaho Physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution.”
Ford Elsaesser, Bonner General Health’s board president, shared a statement on the labor and delivery discontinuation, saying they did everything they could to avoid the inevitable. However, the legislation has made it more challenging to bring in and retain physicians.
“We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services,” Elsaesser said in the statement. “We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”
In recent months, the Idaho Supreme Court upheld numerous laws that make abortion almost fully illegal, The Spokesman Review reported. The only exceptions are for abortions performed because the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or the abortion will save a person’s life.
Now, Bonner General employs only four OB-GYNs and one family nurse practitioner at its Sandpoint Women’s Health clinic. The clinic is expected to remain open for now and plans on working with Kootenai Health, located 50 miles away in the state, when it needs to provide obstetric care.
“Kootenai Health has a longstanding positive relationship working with Bonner General Health and will continue to collaborate with them to serve our region,” Kootenai Health said in a statement. “Leadership from both hospitals are working together to identify any barriers to care for the patient population affected by this closure and are creating solutions to ensure a quality birth experience.”
The hospital said it is making “all attempts” to continue its delivery services through May 19, but that is dependent on staffing, the news release shared.
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