Dr. Lauren Miller, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, had dreamed of opening an ob-gyn residency in Boise, Idaho, but she felt hindered by a recent state law making it a felony for doctors to provide most abortions. Although the law includes exceptions to save the life of the patient, many physicians and reproductive rights organizations argue that it requires a patient to be on death’s door before they can be treated.

In an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court this week in yet another abortion case that the justices will hear this term, Miller recalled treating a patient with kidney disease who was carrying two fetuses. The patient became sick with preeclampsia before the pregnancy was viable, and only one of the fetuses still had a heartbeat.

“The physician treating her when she presented with preeclampsia immediately explained that the pregnancy posed extraordinary risks to her health and fertility, and she wanted to terminate it,” Miller said. “But Idaho’s abortion ban left me in the callous position of communicating the substantial hazards of remaining pregnant any longer only to refuse my patient the abortion she needed and wanted.”

Miller, who now lives in Denver, Colorado, expressed guilt and concern at leaving Idaho but felt that she was forced out because she couldn’t provide patients with necessary care. She is not alone: A recent study by the Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative found that dozens have stopped practicing in the state since the anti-abortion law went into effect in August 2022. “By leaving Idaho, I feel I deserted my community and contributed to the dearth of physicians capable of caring for pregnant women, however unpredictable or challenging their complications, for generations to come,” Miller said.

Next month, the Supreme Court........

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