The only hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, has announced that it will no longer offer obstetric services, citing severe restrictions on reproductive medicine enacted by the state government.
“Without pediatrician compensation to manage neonatal resuscitation and perinatal care, it is dangerous and unethical to provide regular labor and delivery services,” Bonner General Health said in a statement. Stated.
The hospital said the decision to discontinue maternity services was “emotional and difficult”, citing loss of pediatrician coverage, changing demographics and recent state laws surrounding abortion.
according to According to the Idaho Statesman, who was the first to report on the change at Bonner General, Idaho has one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States, and state doctors can be charged with felony charges and have their licenses revoked if they break the law. there is a possibility.
“A highly respected and talented doctor is leaving. Recruiting a replacement will be very difficult,” the hospital said in a news release. “Additionally, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass legislation criminalizing physicians with respect to medical care that is nationally recognized as the standard of care. Consequences for this include civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution, which can lead to prison terms and fines.”
The hospital said it plans to continue providing women’s health services and to coordinate care for “OB patients due to give birth after May.”
Sandpoint has a reported population of over 9,000.
“Finally, we thank you for decades of partnership and entrusting your care to our team of outstanding obstetricians and delivery staff,” the hospital said in a news release. “Maternity hospital closures will not be an easy transition for the Bonner General Health team, the community and surrounding communities.”
Republican-led states across the country made moves last year to broadly ban abortion after the Supreme Court overturned a nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling. Advocates and medical groups have repeatedly warned of the risks such moves pose to women’s health.
Ford Elsaesser, president of Bonner General’s board of directors, said in a statement: “We wanted to be the exception, but it’s impossible to overcome our challenges now.”
General Bonner will have 265 babies in 2022, according to politicians.
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