When Idaho ban kicks in, Boise residents must travel hundreds of miles for an abortion
After a trigger law banning nearly all abortions in Idaho takes effect, the nearest site to Boise offering the procedure legally will be almost 300 miles away.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down federally protected abortion rights, and that eventually will trigger an Idaho law that, with few exceptions, makes it a felony for health care providers to perform or attempt to perform an abortion. Language in the 2020 law says it would take effect 30 days after a Supreme Court decision becomes official, which usually takes a few weeks.
That means Idaho’s two remaining abortion providers soon will not be able to perform the procedure, forcing Idahoans to travel to another state to seek an abortion.
For Southwest Idaho residents, the closest current abortion provider would be in Kennewick, Washington.
Portland-based Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette is leasing space in Ontario, Oregon, about 50 miles from Boise, the Argus Observer and Malheur Enterprise reported. But Planned Parenthood officials have not said whether the future clinic will provide abortions.
In the meantime, Planned Parenthood’s two Idaho clinics will provide abortions right up until the time they can’t, officials said Friday.
“Please keep your appointment if you have one,” said Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates’ Idaho director.
Once the trigger law is in effect, a long trip will be required. The Kennewick Health Center is 289 miles from Boise, or a roughly 4.5-hour drive, according to Google Maps. The clinic provides surgical abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy and six days after the start of a pregnant person’s last menstrual period, according to its website.
Idaho House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, who chairs the Idaho Democratic Party, said Friday that Idaho’s law is “especially cruel because it only applies to those who don’t have the resources to find a way around it.”
“People with means will be able to flee the state to receive abortion care, while Idahoans facing low wages, including a disproportionate share of people of color, will face involuntary pregnancy,” Necochea said in a news release.
A Planned Parenthood health center in Walla Walla, Washington, is about 40 miles closer to Boise than Kennewick’s, but the Walla Walla clinic offers only medication abortions, or abortion pills, and not surgical abortions, according to its website. Medication abortions are offered up to 10 weeks after a pregnant person’s last menstruation period, the website says.
Planned Parenthood also offers surgical abortions in Yakima and Spokane, the Tri-City Herald recently reported.
Southern and East Idaho residents will need to travel even farther for a legal abortion. Laws in Utah and Wyoming also will outlaw the procedure, but abortion remains legal in neighboring Nevada and Montana, in addition to Oregon and Washington.
But Nevada’s only clinics are in Reno and Las Vegas, according to Abortion Finder, a web platform that maps abortion providers. That means Kennewick’s clinic is the closest surgical abortion provider for many Idaho residents — and it’s 414 miles from Twin Falls, for instance.
Pocatello and Idaho Falls residents seeking the procedure could travel to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Helena, Montana, which is 322 miles from Pocatello.
Neighboring states are preparing for a possible influx of patients from Idaho. In March, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said his state will protect Idahoans’ access to abortion. Washington enacted a law solidifying health care workers’ ability to perform abortions after Idaho lawmakers passed a bill that would allow families to sue abortion providers.
The Idaho law, which was signed by the governor, is being challenged in the Idaho Supreme Court.
Montana clinics, meanwhile, are preparing for a surge of patients across the Idaho border as well, the Montana Free Press reported Thursday.
Planned Parenthood will provide abortions until law takes effect
Idaho’s two Planned Parenthood locations — in Meridian and Twin Falls — will provide abortions until they are not able to do so legally, DelliCarpini-Tolman said during a Friday press conference.
Once most abortions are outlawed, DelliCarpini-Tolman said, the organization will take a regional approach by working with neighboring states where abortions are legal. She said the nonprofit will stay with its patients “every step of the way” by helping individuals find an appointment, connecting them with financial resources to help with the cost of traveling and making sure follow-up care is available.
DelliCarpini-Tolman said individuals in need of care should visit their local clinic or contact Planned Parenthood’s patient navigator team at 1-800-237-7526.
“Not only is Planned Parenthood ready for this moment, but our movement was built to this, and along with our partners, we’re ready to shift from protecting abortion rights to restoring abortion rights,” DelliCarpini-Tolman said. “Generations before us fought tirelessly to gain and protect our rights, and now it’s our turn to pick up that mantle.”
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 2:38 PM.
