Idaho law states that rape victims have the right to a prompt police report regarding abortion care, but this does not always happen

In Idaho, women who become pregnant as a result of sexual assault can legally have an abortion, with limited exceptions. But first, they must report the assault to law enforcement and submit a police report to health care providers.

People who approach law enforcement agencies and request copies of documents required by the law may encounter obstacles such as authorities’ misunderstanding of their role in the process and the lack of consistent victim assistance protocols.

“Most survivors give up.”

Victims’ advocates say requiring women to report to law enforcement prevents many of them from seeking the help they need.

Kelly Miller, former head of the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, said rape and sexual assault are among the least reported crimes in the state.

“Sexual assaults and their various manifestations occur in extremely high numbers and are not captured in most national or state data,” she said.

In 2023, Idaho law enforcement investigated 594 rape cases, a number that does not reflect the reality of sexual violence in the state.

“Often, people who have experienced sexual assault just want it to be over, so having to go through the trauma of reporting, the trauma of being questioned by a doctor, most of them give up,” she said.

Woman who was raped and wants to have an abortion first in Idaho must report the assault to the authorities and then ask the police for a copy of their report. Only then can the doctor perform an abortion.

“These barriers will simply be too much for some victims,” Dr. Samuel Dickman, an abortion provider in Montana. “As a result, they will have to continue their pregnancy. I think it’s just incredibly tragic.”

Dickman is co-author of a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association This estimates in the 16 months since Idaho’s abortion ban, about 11,000 women in the state have been victims of sexual assault, far more than authorities report. The study shows that more than a thousand of them ended in pregnancy.

“And the rape exceptions do virtually nothing to help these victims,” Dickman said, adding that about 50% of rape victims who become pregnant as a result of the assault seek to terminate the pregnancy.

“This means that the vast majority of survivors of sexual assault who become pregnant are unable to obtain legal care in the state of Idaho, even though it should technically be available to them,” he added.

Miller said the legal system does not focus on the needs of victims. No other type of medical intervention appears to require patients to interact with law enforcement as a prerequisite to care.

“When someone has suffered sexual violence, they experience such personal, profound trauma that asking that person to report is taking away the freedom of action and choice that was taken away in the first place in the case of sexual assault,” Miller said. “So requiring anyone to have to report to anyone re-traumatizes them.”

72-hour fix

Idaho will ban abortion in 2022, except in cases of rape or incest and when the mother’s life is in danger. Victim advocates were quick to point out that police were not releasing copies of records during an ongoing investigation, potentially preventing women from receiving timely abortion care. In 2023, the legislature changed the law to allow rape victims to receive a police report within 72 hours of it being prepared.

More than a year after the updated amendment went into effect, an investigation by Boise State Public Radio found that law enforcement and public records departments in Idaho are unevenly complying with the amendment’s requirements, which may prevent victims of rape or incest from easily accessing needed documentation for a legal abortion.

“It doesn’t work like that”

“We treat this police report like a store receipt,” Sen. Melissa Wintrow said during debate on the amendment ahead of its adoption by the Legislature in 2023.

“You were raped, you experience trauma, you go to the police, get a receipt, go back to the doctor, and then ask for an abortion. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Police reports are convoluted and complicated, and the police just don’t take it lightly,” she added.

Sergeant Bryan Lovell of the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office explained the process after police received a request for records.

– If it’s an active investigation, they won’t give it to you. Chances are, we wouldn’t even know if you were a victim, a witness, or just a curious person. Normal?”

Idaho Act on Public Documents says agencies can’t ask why people want copies of records, but under the amendment a victim must identify themselves to receive a report. Without special protocols that distinguish victim claims from the general public, victims using standard public records portals may be rejected out of hand.

“It’s just going through the same process and we wouldn’t know it,” Lovell said.

Police typically do not release files related to an open investigation because they may contain sensitive information. When recordings are requested, they are not immediately made available.

“We will submit a request for a specific protocol, then it will go to the prosecutor’s office for approval, and they will come back and say: ‘It may or may not be issued, or it may be published with redactions,'” he added.

For victims whose initial application is denied, Lovell said, the solution would be to contact the U.S. Attorney’s office directly, which they may not be aware of.

Agencies across the state meet this requirement unevenly

Depending on where they report the assault, rape victims may have more or less difficulty obtaining the necessary documents.

Boise State Public Radio contacted 56 agencies across Idaho and asked about protocols to help rape victims access their reports.

Many did not respond. Others made no mention of the 72-hour fix and said they would abide by the law’s public records requirements. Some said they would defer any special cases to the prosecutor’s office.

The Ada County District Attorney’s Office, which works with the largest police force in the state, cited ongoing legal proceedings against Idaho’s abortion law refusing to answer questions about his protocols.

Agencies such as the Meridian Police Department, the Garden City Police Department and the Fremont County Sheriff said they adhere to the 72-hour fix and have internal advocates to help victims.

As the Caldwell Police Department’s victim witness coordinator, Liz Godina said if a victim needs help obtaining a copy of their report, she can walk them through the system step by step.

“I talked to them and explained to them like, ‘This is what you can do; If you need my help, I can go with you to the recording department and do it with you,’” he says. she said, adding that she can then make sure records custodians know about the updated 72-hour fix.

Godina stated that she knew about the 72-hour rape leave requirement because she read about it online and felt it was important for her to stay up to date with changes in the law.

However, not all victims across the state may be so lucky to have someone like Godina helping them obtain copies of their records.

The open investigation policy confuses the process

Some agencies contacted by Boise State Public Radio do not appear to have a streamlined way to provide reports to victims, especially during an open case. Others seemed unaware of the updated law at all.

In July 2024, one year after the amendment went into effect, the Rexburg Police Department wrote in an email that victims had to go to the city’s website to obtain a copy of the report.

“They can search for a public records request there and fill out a form to get a copy of the report. It is then forwarded to our office and we continue to process the application,” the email reads.

“If the investigation has been completed and there are no pending charges or legal proceedings, the victim may receive a copy of the report. If a rape investigation is still ongoing, according to the Madison County Attorney’s Office, a copy will not be released until the investigation is completed and the victim has been notified.”

Idaho amended abortion law states that if an act of rape or incest is reported to law enforcement or child protective services, “then the person who made the report shall, upon request, be entitled to receive a copy of such report within seventy-two (72) hours of the report, provided that if necessary, the report may be redacted to avoid distorting the investigation.”

In Clearwater County, Sheriff Chris Goetz also said his office typically releases records only after an investigation is completed.

“An example of this type of case would be a victim reporting a rape and requesting a report from us that she reported the rape in order to have an abortion,” he wrote in an email. “If we haven’t already investigated, how would we know if a rape actually occurred or if she just wanted an abortion.”

Goetz wrote that if the initial investigation shows that a rape occurred, the agency will provide a report to the victim.

“An example would be that we have conducted all the interviews and collected the physical evidence, but we are waiting for the results from the lab before we can actually complete the investigation. We may not be able to bring charges yet because the case is not over, but I will support the victim in any way I can,” he added.

Rejected demands

Detective Troy Hale, an investigator with the Nampa Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards, said their department realized it had failed to meet the 72-hour requirement and unknowingly refused to file documents for 2023 rape victims.

“We found four that should have been released under the new law that weren’t, and at that point it was more of a training issue for our recording department,” he said. “So it was just an oversight,” he added.

“We have since obviously changed that procedure in our records department so that within 72 hours of when they request a report, we now provide it.”

Four victims were not notified of the department’s failure to process their claims.

“As far as I know, I don’t know if we’ve contacted them at all,” Hale said. The reason for their original request is unknown.

The Ministry of Health and Social Care informs five abortions were legally provided in 2023 in Idaho. There is no way to know if any were awarded under state law rape exception.