Court proceedings in the trial challenging Idaho’s abortion bans ended on Thursday morning in Ada County, a day after the defense presented their testimonies.
The lawsuit represents four women who say they had to leave the state to get the healthcare they needed for non-viable pregnancies.
Following four days of testimony from the plaintiffs, Ada County District Judge Jason Scott heard arguments Wednesday from the state attorney general’s office on behalf of Idaho.
“There is no right to abortion anywhere in the Idaho Constitution. It doesn't matter how you delineate it, what you call it, how you try to hide it, where you try to throw it in,” said Deputy State Attorney James Craig in his opening statements, before asking for the case to be dismissed.
The plaintiffs say the abortion bans go against their constitutional rights to happiness and safety. The suit wants the law to allow patients with complications, pre-existing conditions and lethal fetal diagnoses to access care. Under Idaho code, only mothers at imminent risk of death can get abortions.
On Wednesday, the defense countered the testimonies of physicians, presented earlier in the trial by the plaintiffs, who said the law is causing confusion in the medical field because it doesn’t clarify when they can intervene to preserve the health of a patient.
Nampa-based OB-GYN Dustan Hughes testified for the defense that his team had not been affected by the change in law since the ban went into effect.
“It has not affected their ability to treat them at all. They continue to treat them. They continue to provide the routine care that [the patients] require,” he said. “I've been able to provide the routine care so it hasn't affected my ability to treat these ladies at all.”
A witness for the defense, anti-abortion activist Dr. Ingrid Skop from Texas also testified. She said the law effectively allowed doctors to treat pregnant patients in Idaho and questioned why some physicians said it didn’t.
“They should know what this means,” Skop said. “Doctors are smart enough to figure out legal terms like this.”
“It is tragic and heartbreaking to see doctors say that they know they are violating the standard of care by not intervening, but they are justifying their inaction because of fear of these laws,” she added. ”That is moral injury, to allow doctors to fear these laws that they do not need to fear.”
Under Idaho statute, doctors can face felony charges, up to five years in prison, and risk losing their medical license for terminating pregnancies outside of the bans’ narrow exemptions.
In a cross examination which concluded Wednesday, Plaintiff Attorney Leah Godesky went over Skop’s past research on abortion and asked details about her testimony for the defense.
“Before offering all of your expert opinions on how things are working here in Idaho, you didn't speak to any practicing Idaho physicians, correct?” Godesky asked the witness.
“That is correct,” Skop answered, also confirming she had not spoken to any hospital administrators or pregnant women in Idaho.
The proceedings ended without closing statements, as both plaintiffs and defendants asked for time to review the trial transcripts and the evidence presented in the courtroom. Once they receive copies of the scripts, they will have six weeks to review and respond.
A written decision on the case is expected at a later date.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Dr. Dustan Hughes' first name.
