The lengths to which Republicans will go to rob women of their reproductive rights never ceases to astound. Even if it means throwing constitutionality to the wind, conservative lawmakers seem content to pass laws that spit in the face of women’s rights. This time, it’s Gov. Butch Otter (R) of Idaho who signed a bill that will require abortion providers to report personal details about their patients.
As The Hill reports, the law mandates that practitioners collect data, including the women’s “age, race, number of children, if any of their children have died and the number of their past abortions.” The law also requires that doctors report any possible abortion complications. I’m no lawyer, but this sounds unconstitutional. Whatever happened to doctor-patient privilege? Just two days ago, Otter approved another law that requires women be notified that drug-induced terminations can be stopped halfway. The law was decried by the medical community, including the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Claims regarding abortion 'reversal' treatment are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards,” the group wrote on their website. “Politicians should never mandate treatments or require that physicians tell patients inaccurate information.”
These laws are part of an alarming legislative trend in red states. As we previously reported, a Mississippi governor passed the nation’s most restrictive abortion law in the country, banning terminations after 15 weeks gestation. Fortunately, a federal judge temporarily blocked the bill from taking effect.
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