Dr. Robin Sautter and Dr. Emily Barnes faced a life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage in Moscow, Idaho, with no OB-GYN backup available. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, over a third of Idaho’s OB-GYNs have left the state, stopped practicing obstetrics, or retired.
By December 2025, only 170 obstetricians remained for roughly one million women—fewer than two per 10,000. Half of Idaho’s 44 counties lack a practicing OB-GYN. Three rural hospitals have closed their labor and delivery wards since 2023.
In some areas, women wait up to six months for a hysterectomy and nine months for an annual exam. Life-threatening complications increasingly require helicopter evacuations out of state. A November referendum could restore abortion rights until fetal viability, but the damage to maternal care access is already severe.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing