You may recall the decision in March 2023 by Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint to close its obstetric services, for reasons evidently related to the arrival of Idaho’s new abortion laws. This was not an aberration, as Idaho overall has lost about a third of its practicing obstetricians since 2022.
Here’s a followup to the situation in Sandpoint, suggesting what other communities may see.
Sandpoint today has the 7B Care Clinic (operated by Life Choices Pregnancy Center Inc.), a non-profit “free women’s health clinic in Sandpoint, ID, providing pregnancy and sexual health services, resources, referrals, and education to women and families. We believe each individual has the right to get information from a resource that will not profit from their reproductive health choices.”
That’s the most prominent message you get on the clinic website, but there are other relevant facts too.
One is that the Clinic (and Center), as its executive director recently wrote, “has always operated as a Christian, faith-based ministry. Our mission, public communications, governing documents, website, and organizational practices clearly reflect that identity. At no time did we attempt to conceal our religious nature or the values that guide our ministry.”
Another is that while the clinic does have some nursing staff, it does not have a physician, an M.D. That’s a significant limitation, one the clinic evidently and reasonably would like to redress.
So it seemed a big deal when in May the 7B Care Clinic reached an agreement with Newport Hospital and Health Services, just across the Washington state line in Newport, for up to six of its physicians to provide OB/GYN services at the Sandpoint clinic.
When time came to begin that work, however, Newport terminated the agreement.
Stories from the two sides conflict about when 7B Care Clinic’s requirements of the doctors were made known to Newport, but based on local news reports there seems none about what they were, and they were a deal breaker.
Included in a document the physicians were expected to sign (and declare they agreed with) was a provision that they were “expected to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to conduct their lives in accordance with Biblical principles. Thus, each person who is single must be committed to sexual purity and those married must be in a heterosexual marriage consisting of one biological man and one biological woman.”
There were limitations concerning what medical care might be provided. Some are what you’d expect for a pro-life pregnancy facility: “We do not recommend, provide or refer for abortion or abortifacients.” Others may be less obvious: “We do not recommend, provide, or refer single women for contraceptives. Married women and their husbands seeking this information are urged to counsel with their pastor and physician.”
The physicians were also expected to sign off on a rather specific “statement of faith,” not only affirming their Christianity but specific items of doctrine (which not all Christians would necessarily agree with), such as, “We believe that for salvation of the lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential, and that this salvation is received through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and not as the result of good works.”
The decision by Newport to say “no thanks” should be no shock.
The bigger shock would come if 7B, operating with its current rules and structure, manages easily to find licensed physicians who would accept all those terms.
By itself, this is a small-bore development in a small community. But the economic and legal dynamics that got Sandpoint here can apply all over Idaho. It may have been first to experience a story like this, but it’s not likely the last.
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