Excerpts:
“Idaho has both a trigger ban that will go into effect if Roe is overturned, which would ban abortion in Idaho, but it […] also passed a Texas SB 8 lookalike statute that enables family members to bring private causes of action against abortion providers,”
(Kim) Clark (senior reproductive rights attorney at Legal Voice) said if Idaho’s “trigger ban” goes into effect, it will likely force people who want to get an abortion to travel to Oregon or Washington to get care….
“Abortion providers in both states are expecting a dramatic increase in patients coming from out of state in order to access care,” said Clark.
That influx of people could put stress on providers in more ways than one. Clark said states that have banned abortion could sue providers in the Northwest.
“We're not under any illusion that the states that are banning abortion will stop at banning abortion just within their borders,” she said.
You’ve all seen the map (above) and read about the 23 states that are likely to outlaw abortion when the Supreme Court decision on Roe goes into effect (article).
After reading the above article about the ripple effects of an abortion ban on Washington and Oregon I wondered where the closest Planned Parenthood clinic to the population centers of southwestern Idaho was so I looked it up. When Idaho outlaws abortion Washington has some Planned Parenthood (PP) offices on their western border which northern Idaho residents can utilize. Note that residents of southwest Idaho have had to travel a very long way (and over hazardous mountains in the winter), to get to the PP offices in eastern Oregon. Even the one PP clinic west of the Cascade Mountains in Bend is a 300 mile drive from Boise, Idaho.
But there is good news but unfortunately it will only effect those who live near Oregon. Fortunately PP will be opening a new clinic in Ontario which is on the border with southeast Idaho. It is on Route 84 which will makes travel there from southwest Idaho easier.
If a woman lives in northeastern Idaho there are two abortion clinics in Missoula, Montana, which isn’t too far away:
Idaho is on the left.
I couldn't find a clinic where residents of southeast Idaho could easily travel to get abortions in Montana.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana signed a law banning abortions after 20 weeks in 2021.
Unfortunately if, for example, a woman who lived New Orleans and there was a clinic in Cairo in southern Illinois and she couldn’t fly it would be a 676 mile drive. If there was a clinic on the southwestern border of Colorado in the town of Campo it would be a 700 mile drive from Corpus Christi, Texas. Someone could chose to fly to a state where abortions are legal but even though one can find fairly cheap flights (about $200 round-trip from Corpus Christi to Colorado Springs for example, and double this if they want to bring someone with them) they usually have to be booked two weeks or longer in advance. It should go without saying that there are occasions when for medical and not legal reasons time is of the essence and getting airplane tickets on short notice is usually costly which may leave the only option for some women taking a 12 hour drive if, for example, the distance is 700 miles (reference).
I expect that Planned Parenthood and other facilities which provide abortions will be opening clinics if they don’t already have them which are close to the bordering states which will be making abortion illegal. It is a tragic state of affairs that where a woman happens to live and how much money she has will often make the difference between her being able to choose whether to have a baby or not, and whether she is able to get a safe abortion if she choses to terminate a pregnancy,.
Addendum:
(See: Looking for abortion clinics? This article is your go-to guide for figuring out where to get an abortion near you. Find nonjudgmental abortion services here.)
Poll: See list in first comment.
