Republican legislatures are turning red states into dangerous hellholes and it’s time to sound the alarm
I want to talk about a crisis few are discussing. It’s the crisis of what’s happening to our Maternal healthcare. The example I will use is the state of Idaho, though they’re far from the only state experiencing this problem. And that problem is that maternity wards are closing, and doctors are fleeing.
This, of course, has much to do with red states and their stringent abortion laws. And it’s eerie and genuinely disturbing to see. Idaho stands as having some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. The state bans abortion after six weeks. They ban abortions in general, with exceptions being rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in jeopardy.
Family members can sue hospitals that participate in abortions. There is a ban on interstate travel for minors. And all of this is making doctors very uncomfortable. That might be why many of them are fleeing — to other states with less stringent rules.
And maternity wards are closing. Recently Bonner General Health, located in beautiful Sand Point Idaho, shut down all its obstetric car. They said this: “We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”
The political climate is scaring the crap out of many. Not only are doctors fleeing in droves, but hospitals are having difficulty getting replacements. Dr. Amanda Huntsberger wrote an email saying she was both leaving the hospital and moving from the state. “What a sad, sad state of affairs,” she wrote.
And many people are expressing their thoughts that it’s just not safe to give birth in Idaho anymore. It’s not safe to be pregnant there, either. Pregnant women should not have to worry about receiving care. Doctors and other medical personnel should not be forced to upend their lives and flee in panic.
This is a direct result of the failure of red states to meet the needs of their people. And it will get worse for these red states. If they keep messing with women’s lives and taking their choice away, red states will, at some point, face a population problem.
Many, if not most, will not want to live in Idaho or any similar state that has or will enact this cruel and inhumane legislation. Republicans say they care about babies, but they do not.
Babies and their mothers should be catered to, admired, and respected. Their pregnancies should be tranquil, seasons of joy, where they are relaxed and doted upon and look to the future with pleasure, not fear.
And the heroes — our medical people — who care for and nurture these lovely women should be admired for the brilliant medical minds they are. They should not be forced to flee based on barbaric legislation that makes no sense and stigmatizes the medical community.
