At a Planned Parenthood Great Northwest rally on Sunday, April 21, Idahoans advocated for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal law protects access to abortion procedures in emergency situations, even in states like Idaho with strict abortion bans. (Otto Kitsinger/Idaho Capital Sun)
A doctor in Idaho recently saw a pregnant patient whose water broke at 15 weeks of pregnancy — something that normally happens at 38 weeks or later.
It was about eight weeks before the fetus could be delivered and survive, even with medical intervention. Amniotic fluid, released when the water breaks, is critical to fetal development, and under such circumstances is quickly prone to infection.
Another hospital had already turned the patient away because of Idaho’s abortion ban, and the patient couldn’t travel out of state for financial and insurance-related reasons. The closest hospital was a six-hour drive through remote country roads with spotty cell service. Staying put was safer than potentially delivering the fetus in the car and risking hemorrhage.