BOISE, ID – North Idaho legislators on Friday introduced a bill to add exceptions to Idaho’s strict abortion ban, the first effort in two years to create a health exception.
Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, introduced the bill to the Senate State Affairs Committee to allow doctors to provide an abortion “to prevent a serious health risk to the mother” and to provide an abortion to women whose fetus “was diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly.”
Under Idaho’s abortion ban, a physician may provide an abortion if it’s to “prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” However, medical providers have said this wording does not make it clear if physicians can provide an abortion to prevent detrimental health outcomes, such as preeclampsia, hemorrhaging or the loss of future fertility.
This has led pregnant patients with severe health complications or fetal anomalies to seek an abortion out of state, as their providers could not perform an abortion without risking criminal charges — a problem that doctors have said is exacerbating the state’s existing physician shortage. The state lost 22% of its OB-GYN workforce and more than half the specialists who handle high-risk pregnancies in the 15 months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a report from the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare.
The committee voted to introduce the bill, but Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, said it will not move forward for a full hearing.
“I’m OK with introducing this legislation to have it out for public consumption, understanding that we’re not planning on moving forward with the public hearing this year,” Den Hartog told the committee. “I think this is an important conversation. I have many serious and grave concerns with the legislation as drafted.”
Den Hartog did not elaborate on what her concerns are.
This is not the first bill of its kind. During the 2023 legislative session, Republican legislators introduced a bill to add an exception for an abortion to be performed “to treat a physical condition of the woman that if left untreated would be life-threatening.” But House State Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, pulled the bill from the agenda the day it was supposed to receive a hearing amid criticism from anti-abortion groups, and it did not move forward, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
Meridian senator objects to discussion on labor and delivery unit closures
Woodward said he felt obligated to bring the legislation forward to start a conversation about addressing Idaho’s ban while acknowledging that it may not receive a full hearing.
“I do not believe in elective abortion, but I do believe in providing medical care for very particular situations that we are trying to address,” Woodward told the committee. “To receive medical care, we must have medical providers. As our law stands, we are pushing providers out of Idaho.”
His cosponsor, Rep. Mark Sauter, represents Sandpoint, where in 2023, the city’s only hospital closed its obstetrical care unit. Sandpoint is not the only city where labor and delivery care services have shut down. In June 2023, Valor Health in Emmett stopped providing labor and delivery services in response to financial and staffing challenges. And in April 2024, Caldwell’s West Valley Medical Center closed its labor and delivery and neonatal intensive care units, citing declining birth rates and staffing issues.
“The women in Sandpoint now must drive for over an hour to the Coeur d’Alene area or drive out of state to get their normal OB-GYN type care. Women in Bonners Ferry, which is in Boundary County, which is even farther north, must drive significantly farther. Our women’s health care situation also exacerbates other hospital problems…” Sauter told the committee, before he was interrupted.
“Mr. Chairman, could we just speak to what’s in the bill?” Den Hartog said. “Please, for the print hearing.”
Den Hartog later quickly moved to print the bill for an introduction without hearing from the doctor who helped draft legislation. But Sen. Treg Bernt, R-Meridian, called Den Hartog’s quick motion “disrespectful.”
“I’m also a member of this Republican caucus that is pro-life …” Bernt said. “I think cutting this senator off in this discussion is disrespectful, and I think that they deserve more.”
Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Guthrie said he would allow for more discussion on the bill given the controversy of the topic.
Dr. John Werdel, the medical director for women’s services at St. Luke’s Health System, then spoke to the committee about the legislation he helped draft. St. Luke’s has also sued the state over its ban as it relates to emergency room care, and has said a health exception written into the law would resolve their concerns.
“The threat of a criminal lawsuit has been overwhelming for many of our physicians, and it is the main reason so many of our colleagues have left the state,” Werdel told the committee. “This bill would clarify the law and provide reassurance to our physicians that they can exercise their professional judgment.”
Melanie Folwell, the executive director of Idahoans United for Women and Families, told the Idaho Capital Sun she appreciates the bill sponsors’ willingness to talk about the serious hardships created by Idaho’s current laws. Folwell is leading the effort to restore abortion access in Idaho through a ballot initiative in the 2026 midterm election.
“It’s a shame that other lawmakers were eager to shut down any discussion of those hardships,” Folwell said. “I’m sorry it’s uncomfortable to hear about the suffering of Idaho women and the doctors who take care of them, but it is the duty of lawmakers to hear about the consequences of the laws they make.”
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.
