Since January, Dr. Stacy Seyb, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Boise, Idaho, has had at least four of his patients wheeled onto emergency flights and airlifted out of the state while experiencing severe pregnancy complications.
One of them was a woman whose water broke around 20 weeks into her pregnancy, putting her at risk of infection. In these types of emergencies, ending the patient’s pregnancy can be part of the standard of care. But doctors at the hospital where Seyb works say they have been forced to transfer patients who have these complications out of state to comply with the state’s abortion ban.
“This has become the new normal, which is sad,” he said.
I’m sorry for what you experienced, but that isn’t the same thing at all. Not every hospital has advanced capabilities. There aren’t enough specialists to staff them, and even if there were small population centers wouldn’t have the number of patients needed to sustain the costs associated with those advanced capabilities. Transferring patients to different hospitals for a higher level of care is extremely common.
The article is talking about a situation where the hospital has the capability to provide the appropriate care, but can’t for legal reasons. In that scenario having to transfer a patient out of state is ridiculous, wasteful, and unsafe.