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94 Doctors Gone in 28 Months
Idaho had 268 OB-GYNs when its near-total abortion ban took effect in August 2022. By December 2024, 94 of them were gone. That is a 35% loss in 28 months, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open in July 2025. Six of nine maternal-fetal medicine specialists left. Three hospitals shut down their labor and delivery units.
The remaining OB-GYNs are not spread evenly. 151 practice in Idaho’s seven urban counties. Just 23 serve the other 37 rural counties, home to nearly a quarter of the state’s population.
“These results provide a stark picture of a rapidly declining maternal health workforce in our state,” said Dr. Edward McEachern, the study’s lead author.
Why They Left
Dr. Amelia Huntsberger practiced OB-GYN in Sandpoint, Idaho, where she was raising three kids. She resigned and moved to a state without abortion restrictions. All three of her partners followed.
“We knew that one or both of us was going to be in a circumstance where our professional obligation to take care of our patient was going to conflict with the state law. It wasn’t a matter of will this happen, it was a matter of, if you stay there it will happen.”
— Dr. Amelia Huntsberger, former Idaho OB-GYN
When Huntsberger left, Sandpoint lost its entire OB-GYN practice. Pregnant women in that part of Idaho now drive hours for routine prenatal care. Some who hemorrhage get airlifted out of state.
This Is Not Just Idaho
Idaho is the first state with hard data. Others are heading in the same direction.
| State | Key Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | Lost 35% of OB-GYNs (94 of 268) in 28 months | JAMA Network Open, July 2025 |
| Texas | 1 in 5 OB-GYNs considering leaving; 45% of counties are maternity deserts | Manatt Health / The Week |
| Tennessee | Medical school graduates declining to apply for in-state residencies | Nashville Banner |
| Nationwide | 10.5% drop in OB-GYN residency applicants in total-ban states vs. 5.3% in non-ban states | AAMC |
The pipeline is drying up too. Fewer medical school graduates want to train in ban states, which means the doctor shortage gets worse every year the bans stay in place.
The Body Count
Fewer doctors means more dead mothers. In Texas, maternal mortality rose 56% in the first full year of its abortion ban, according to the Gender Equity Policy Institute. The national increase over the same period was 11%. Black mothers in ban states are 3.3 times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum than their counterparts in states without bans.
Meanwhile, rural maternity care is collapsing everywhere. 116 rural hospitals have closed their labor and delivery units since the end of 2020, with 27 closures in 2025 alone. When you combine that trend with an OB-GYN workforce fleeing ban states, the result is simple: if you live in a rural county with an abortion ban, there may not be a doctor available to deliver your baby.
Idaho Is Fighting Back
Idahoans United for Women and Families submitted more than 100,000 signatures in April 2026 for a ballot initiative that would end the state’s near-total ban and legalize abortion until fetal viability. County clerks are verifying signatures now. If it qualifies, Idaho voters will decide in November 2026.
What You Can Do
- Write your state legislators. If you live in a ban state, tell them the OB-GYN shortage is a medical emergency, not just a policy debate. Use Resist Bot to send a letter in under two minutes.
- Support Idaho’s ballot initiative. Back to Idaho is organizing to get the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act on the November ballot. Donate or volunteer.
- Check your county. Find out how many OB-GYNs practice near you and whether your local hospital still has a labor and delivery unit. The March of Dimes maternity care desert map shows which counties have zero providers.
- Vote in 2026. Governor and state legislature races in Idaho, Texas, and other ban states will determine whether these bans survive. Register now.
Read more about reproductive rights fights nationwide at the Reproductive Rights hub. See what is happening in your state on the Idaho state page.