With Roe overturned, eastern Idaho will be one of the largest abortion provider deserts
With the Supreme Court’s Friday reversal of Roe v. Wade, eastern Idaho will soon become one of the most difficult areas in the country to access an abortion.
And for the first post-Roe generation of women growing up here, it’s a frightening prospect.
“What scares me most if they can overturn a case that’s been on the books for 49 years, what other rights might they take away?” asked 18-year-old Sidney Woodhouse of Idaho Falls. “How many girls are going to get unsafe abortions now?”
Women in this region will be among the most severely impacted by the decision.
Eastern Idaho is near the geographic center of what will become one of the two most expansive abortion provider deserts in America. The largest will be in the South, where Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee have passed trigger laws, which will automatically make abortion a criminal offense following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Another in the West includes Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
The most common destination for eastern Idaho women seeking abortions was the clinic in Twin Falls. It will no longer be able to provide them once Idaho’s trigger law takes effect.
To the east, Wyoming has a trigger law, but it’s effectively redundant. The last clinic in the state closed years ago.
To the south, Salt Lake City offered another option. Utah’s trigger law will eliminate it.
That leaves a single long trip to the north in Missoula, Montana. From some parts of eastern Idaho, it’s a nearly 500-mile drive. And with strong GOP majorities in both chambers of the Montana Legislature and Gov. Greg Gianforte expressing support for a special session to outlaw abortion, it’s unclear how long that road will remain open.
If it closes, the closest options for many women may be in Denver, Colorado or Bend, Oregon, each about 600 miles away from Idaho Falls. For women of limited financial means, or who are unable to obtain child care for several days, or who lack reliable transportation, there may be no options at all.
Woodhouse said she has seen many women her age expressing a willingness to participate in mutual aid efforts to ensure that access is not lost.
“I’ve had multiple friends who’ve made it known that they will drive folks to Oregon,” she said.
But Woodhouse is concerned that the Supreme Court might continue to roll back rights. The right to use contraception was established on grounds very similar to those in Roe. Could that be next?
Sujata Gandhi, 19, of Idaho Falls, shared many of Woodhouse’s concerns.
Gandhi, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which strongly opposes abortions in nearly all cases, said she is nonetheless disheartened by the decision.
“Most of our members are pro preserving life,” Gandhi said. “Although the primary view in our area is that abortion kills, it does save lives.”
For example, if someone becomes pregnant in an abusive relationship, Gandhi said, it can become impossible to leave if abortion becomes illegal. Often abortions are required for medical reasons, but doctors might be more worried about performing them in those cases because there’s a risk of criminal prosecution.
And Gandhi worries that her generation of women will be held back socially and economically by the lack of access to abortion. If women can suddenly be limited in their work capacity for a significant period of time during pregnancy until they can give a child up for adoption, or if they are forced to take time away from their career to raise a young child, it will have economic impacts that could last a lifetime.
“The quality of life for many people is going to be reduced because of this, especially for my generation,” Gandhi said.