(This story has been updated.)
Come this time next month, getting an abortion in Idaho will be a criminal act.
Narrow exceptions under the state’s so-called “trigger law” include rape, incest and medical emergencies in which a woman’s life is at stake. The rape and incest exceptions will be granted only with proof in the form of a police report, which can take weeks to obtain.
Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman from Planned Parenthood in Idaho says patients still have time to make arrangements.
“We will continue providing abortions for the next 30 days, so please keep your appointment if you have one. After that we are taking a regional approach to care, to get together with our neighboring states who will still have access to abortion care," she said.
Planned Parenthood’s Idaho clinics are in the Boise suburb of Meridian and in Twin Falls. Its nearest Oregon facility is in Bend. The nearest eastern Washington clinics are in Spokane, Pullman and Walla Walla.
A spokeswoman says demand at the two remaining Idaho clinics was 40% higher this spring compared to the same period in 2021.
If women need to travel to other states to access an abortion, a Boise woman is offering to help them.
Rebecca de Leon works for Caminar Latino, a Georgia-based organization that bills itself as a domestic violence intervention program for Latino families.
Soon after Friday’s Supreme Court decision was announced, de Leon tweeted that she would help anyone who can’t pay for or travel to an appointment.
“Gas prices are out of control and if they need to get to a place where they need to access abortion in Washington and Oregon, it is out of reach for them and we have no public transportation. No questions asked. If they need it, I will help them personally," she said.
De Leon says she’s not working with any organizations as she extends her offer, but she hopes it will spur others to do something similar. In fact, soon after DeLeon posted her tweet, she says she received messages from several friends who wanted in on her plan.
De Leon says people who are interested in learning more about her offer can reach out to her on Twitter.
