In the United States, anti-abortion laws have been getting tougher in the country since the repeal of Roe v. Wade. In Idaho, Republican lawmakers recently asked hospitals for patient medical records to verify that no illegal abortions had been performed.
A year after the repeal of Roe v. Wade in the United States, which constitutionally guaranteed the right to abortion since 1973, the government continues to criminalize abortion and the doctors who practice it. In Idaho, hospitals received on June 15 a letter asking them to send the patients’ medical records to verify that no abortions have been performed without the state being informedreports miss. A “chilling” letter, which was made public thanks to a local media, Northwest Public Broadcasting.
Doctors who risk fines and prison sentences
In this letter, the Republican legislators question the veracity of the data transmitted by the hospitals of the State. Compulsory data transmission in Idaho for several years, but normally “protected by the state government”explain the Idaho Hospital Association and the Idaho Medical Association to the media Jezebel. Only 5 of the 44 counties in Idaho have transmitted their data on abortion in the last 11 years, recalling in passing that “no form of abortion presents an exception, including for medical reasons”. A discrepancy that can be explained by the fact that “hospitals in rural counties or hospitals with fewer resources refer patients seeking abortion to hospitals in larger counties”, details the media. An explanation not taken into account by the legislators.
On the same subject ⋙ United States: a federal court suspends the use of one of the two abortion pills used in the country
⋙ United States: for the first time, 5 women file a complaint for refusal of abortion
“Has your hospital performed any of the induced abortions that should be reported? If so, has your hospital been in compliance with Idaho’s induced abortion reporting law? If not, is there a reasonable explanation, and could you provide your data on induced abortion so that we can make informed policy decisions?”, can we read in the letter sent to the hospitals.
In Idaho, abortion is completely prohibitedexcept in cases of rape or danger to life (ectopic and molar pregnancies). The letter also recalls the penalties incurred by hospitals and doctors who do not report this information: a fine of 1,000 dollars and up to one year in prison for doctors.
Women’s health, a political and not a human issue
Last April, Idaho became the first state to pass a law prohibiting minors to travel to another state to have an abortion. It is now considered a crime, and anyone who helps a minor to have an abortion risks up to five years in prison. As a result of anti-abortion laws, a state hospital closed its maternity ward last March after a exodus from gynecologists and obstetricians who are afraid of ending up in prison because of their profession.
Even worse : the state decided to dissolve the committee that was analyzing the maternal mortality rate. The latest figures analyzed are those of 2021, reports the Boise State Public Radio, or before the repeal of Roe v. Wade. 98% of these deaths could have been avoided, explains the latest report. In the United States, the maternal mortality rate has doubled in the last twenty years among black womenwhich have historically had the highest maternal mortality rate, according to a study published in July 2023. In Indian populations and indigenous of Alaska, this rate has tripled. According to a 2017 study relayed by the online media Mother Jones, the more a State applies a harsh anti-abortion policy, the more the health of women is in danger.
Read also ⋙ Here’s everything that’s happened since the repeal of the right to abortion in the United States a year ago
⋙ In England, abortions are on the rise because of the cost of living
⋙ Abortion: the Senate in favor of its inclusion in the Constitution for a “freedom” of recourse to abortion
2023-08-08 11:50:42
#Abortion #United #States #government #requests #medical #records #Idaho #hospitals
