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Women Denied ‘Medically Necessary Abortion’ Testify Against Idaho Law
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Women Denied ‘Medically Necessary Abortion’ Testify Against Idaho Law

Four women who filed a lawsuit against the state of Idaho after being denied “medically necessary” abortions because of a state law began their testimony Tuesday in a Boise courtroom.

Jennifer Adkins, the lead plaintiff against the state, will be the first of the four women to testify. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, Adkins had a 12-week ultrasound that showed her baby had skin edema and cystic hygroma. Her lawyers say the conditions have a high mortality rate and Adkins was told her pregnancy was not viable.

Idaho law allows abortions only when “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” Healthcare providers who violate the law face two to five years in prison. Idaho’s abortion laws make no exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities.

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Adkins says doctors told her that carrying the baby to term can lead to edema and preeclampsia.

“Although Jennifer was devastated by the news, it was clear to her that continuing the pregnancy would put her health at risk,” the Center for Reproductive Rights said. “Aware of Idaho’s abortion ban, she questioned her doctors, who admitted that if the state’s laws had been different, they would have referred her to an abortion clinic in the state. But because of Idaho’s abortion laws, she would have had to travel outside of Idaho. to get the care he needed.”

The law has been in the middle of legal battles since 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The Biden administration was also among those fighting Idaho’s abortion ban.

“Here in Idaho, we are proud to have led the country in protecting premature lives. I will continue to work with Attorney General Lawrence Wasden to vigorously uphold state sovereignty and defend Idaho’s laws in the face of federal interference,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in 2022.

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Idaho’s law is considered among the strictest in the US