As an Idaho doctor, I need the Reproductive Freedom Act to save lives | Opinion

I’m a family physician who also provides obstetric care in rural Idaho. I have practiced here for five years, delivering babies, managing prenatal complications and caring for patients across the lifespan.

Since June 2022, when nearly 50 years of access to comprehensive reproductive health services ended after Idaho implemented the trigger ban, physicians like me have struggled to understand how to take care of our patients in an environment mired in legal confusion and where we face prison sentences for delivering evidence-based medicine.

Unfortunately, another legislative session has ended, and Idaho lawmakers didn’t address confusion over Idaho’s laws; in fact, they doubled down on targeting doctors and making Idaho a more difficult state to practice medicine, which is highly concerning for all of us.

Idaho already faces a primary care workforce shortage. We are 50th in the United States for active physicians per 100,000 population. Laws that prevent physicians from delivering high-quality, evidence-based care drive skilled specialists from our state — 94 obstetricians left Idaho between 2022 and 2024 because Idaho’s reproductive health laws have made it such a tenuous place to practice medicine.

Government intrusion in medicine has ripple effects across the entire healthcare system: Physician departures and recruitment challenges result in longer wait times, reduced services and even clinic closures. While working on the front lines of primary care in rural Idaho, these Idaho laws have made practicing medicine overwhelming at times.

That’s why it’s critical that all Idahoans support the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, a citizen-led initiative that is very close to appearing on the ballot for Idaho’s general election this November.

The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act would restore patients’ ability to make private medical decisions in consultation with their doctor without government interference. The initiative protects patient autonomy, patient safety and evidence-based practice. It ensures that when complications arise, physicians can provide the care their patients need.

Passage of the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act will allow physicians to deliver pregnancy-related care without fear of legal repercussions, which will help us to protect the health and lives of pregnant patients in emergencies.

Idahoans should have the freedom to make health care decisions based on medical best practices, and through a trusted and confidential relationship with their physician. Restoring patient autonomy will result in healthier families and communities across our state.

Medical decisions during pregnancy are urgent and deeply personal, involving medical facts, family circumstances, faith and fear. Families confronting complicated pregnancies are living through painful, high-stakes situations — not policy hypotheticals.

Patients deserve clear information, compassion and safe access to the medical care they need.

As a physician serving Idaho patients, my job is to meet these families with grace, prioritize health and safety and work toward policies that support both patients and the providers who care for them.

The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act will help Idaho restore safe, compassionate, and accessible reproductive health care for all Idahoans.

Dr. Robin Sautter currently provides primary care and obstetric care in Moscow, Idaho. After completion of medical school at the University of Minnesota, she moved to Idaho to complete a family medicine residency at Full Circle Health. She spent an additional year preparing to work in her rural community by completing a fellowship in high-risk obstetric care. When not in the office, she can be found exploring Idaho’s hiking and mountain biking trails with her husband and two children.