(Oregon Right to Life) — They share a border, but Idaho and Oregon could hardly be more different. Idaho is solidly conservative, while Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican governor in over 40 years. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Idaho immediately began protecting nearly all unborn life with very narrow exceptions – while in Oregon, abortion remains legal up to the moment of birth without any limits.
Today, there are seven active Planned Parenthood facilities in Oregon. In Idaho, there is only one still in operation following the December 19 permanent closure of the state’s Twin Falls location. And thanks to Idaho’s pro-life law, that facility no longer performs abortions.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the unborn in Idaho are safe.
READ: Idaho Planned Parenthood Clinic Closes Its Doors Permanently
Oregon Facilitates ‘Abortion Tourism’
Oregon has become a destination for abortion tourism since the overturning of Roe, with the phenomenon spiking the rate of overall abortions performed in the state even as Idaho abortion facilities close their doors for good.
“Because we’re so close to the border, women know that they can drive for an hour, basically, and get services at Planned Parenthood if they choose to do that,” said Sue Drayton, Client Services Manager at Treasure Valley Path, a pro-life pregnancy resource center (PRC) in Boise, Idaho.
Abortion-minded women in the Boise area can obtain abortions at the new Planned Parenthood that opened in early 2023 in the small town of Ontario in Oregon’s Malheur County, just over the border.
Last year, more than 400 abortions were performed in the county, 89% of which were for residents of states other than Oregon, according to Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data. There had been no reported abortions in Malheur County in 2022.
RELATED: Late-Term Abortions More Than Doubled In 2023, Oregon Health Authority Data Shows
And it’s not just surgical abortions across the border that threaten Idaho’s unborn. The abortion industry is also profiting from abortions within Idaho despite the state’s pro-life protections.
Abortion Pills Harm Women and the Unborn, Even in Pro-Life States Like Idaho
Drayton, a mother and grandmother who came to Path following a corporate career, told Oregon Right to Life that the Boise PRC sees “a lot of people who have taken the abortion pills.” Many of those pregnant moms are obtaining the pills online, she said, where they can purchase them cheap and get them delivered straight to their door, thanks to a loosening of FDA regulations under the Biden administration.
Nationwide, chemical abortions accounted for over 60% of all abortions performed in 2023, despite serious risks – including severe bleeding, incomplete abortion, sepsis, and death.
Drayton said her organization frequently interacts with women and girls who present with serious complications after purchasing abortion pills online. A big part of the problem, she said, is that many women “have no idea exactly how far along they are” when they take the abortion pills, increasing the risk of side effects.
“We’re seeing girls that are bleeding excessively for weeks and months after they take their pills,” Drayton said, adding that Treasure Valley Path refers women and girls to pro-life gynecologists for care.
Pro-Life Pregnancy Resource Centers Provide Real Care and Options
While Oregon abortion facilities perform abortions for out-of-state residents and online suppliers mail dangerous abortion drugs to Idaho women, pro-life PRCs like Path provide a range of resources to support pregnant mothers.
Women and girls who come into the clinic can get a free pregnancy test, then a free ultrasound (if they’re over six weeks pregnant) performed by a licensed sonographer or registered nurse/midwife. Path also helps clients get medical and obstetric care, regular prenatal vitamins, and even educational courses on pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum, and newborn care.
“We have highly trained medical staff here that have been excellently trained,” Drayton said. The breadth of quality resources that Path and other pro-life pregnancy resource centers provide challenges claims made by pro-abortion politicians and lobbyists that PRCs aren’t real clinics because they do not provide abortions.
“It’s frustrating to be called a ‘fake clinic’ when we do so much to make sure that we are providing nothing but top-notch care,” Drayton shared.
Drayton and her team help women and girls work through the difficult decisions ahead of them, and make sure pregnant moms understand that abortion isn’t a quick fix. Some will still opt for abortion. But she said “the majority of people” who choose life “are very happy with their decision.”
Path is a crucial resource for women and girls experiencing unsupported pregnancies, including those who may feel that abortion is their only option. And for many women, a sense of urgency or pressure is behind their decision to seek abortion. In fact, one study found that as many as 70% of abortions are not desired by the women who obtain them.
Idaho Lawmakers Are Addressing Coerced Abortion
The problem of unwanted or coerced abortion is one that the Idaho government has recently taken up, passing a law prohibiting so-called “abortion trafficking.” The legislation was immediately challenged, but a federal court last month handed down a decision allowing the state to continue enforcing the law, which makes it illegal to transport minors across state lines for abortion without parental consent.
In 2023, an abortion facility in Bend, Oregon reportedly performed an abortion for a 15-year-old girl who had been taken to Oregon from Idaho by her 18-year-old boyfriend and his mother. The girl was allegedly “happy” with the pregnancy, though her boyfriend was not. The boyfriend has since been charged with rape, and he and his mother were charged with second-degree kidnapping.
READ: Idaho Can Enforce Pro-Life Law Against Abortion Trafficking, Federal Court Rules
Commenting on the December ruling by the federal court, Drayton said the vast majority of Path’s clients aren’t minors, and she hasn’t been directly aware of girls being trafficked to Oregon for abortions. But she agreed with Idaho’s lawmakers that “nobody should be doing anything having to do with any type of a medical procedure with the child, other than the parent, without the parents’ consent.”
What’s Ahead?
It’s likely that Oregon and Idaho will remain deeply polarized on the abortion issue moving forward, unless and until Oregon begins to withdraw from its radical abortion-until-birth position.
But instead of merely waiting or hoping for legislative change, pro-life advocates and organizations like Path remain committed to providing and promoting life-affirming resources for women and girls on both sides of the border.
Pro-life advocates in Oregon who want to get involved in supporting pregnancy resource centers or maternity homes can explore local organizations at ortl.org/care.
Find Out More:
- Explore Treasure Valley Path’s website
- Discover Oregon Right to Life’s pro-life resource guides
- Learn more about the services pro-life pregnancy resource centers provide nationwide
Oregon Right to Life believes in the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Read the full statement and all of our position statements here.
