The only hospital in a Northern Idaho town of 9,000 people, Bonner General Health, announced last week that it was closing its labor and delivery clinic. The hospital — situated in Sandpoint, a remote town about an hour's drive north of Coeur d'Alene — implied in its press release that the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the concomitant laws passed afterwards, were partially responsible.
Indeed, in the news release, the hospital cited a variety of reasons for the closure, including the state of Idaho's "legal and political climate." "Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving; recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult," the hospital wrote. "In addition, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care."
