US Supreme Court weighs Idaho's strict abortion ban in medical
emergencies
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 [April 24, 2024]
By John Kruzel and Andrew Chung
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday wades back
into the battle over abortion access in arguments pitting Idaho's strict
Republican-backed abortion ban against a federal law that ensures that
patients can receive emergency care.
The justices are set to hear arguments in an appeal by Idaho officials
after a lower court ruled that the 1986 U.S. law at issue, the Emergency
Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), takes precedence over the
state's near-total ban. President Joe Biden's administration has urged
the justices to uphold that ruling.
The dispute has prompted the court, which has a 6-3 conservative
majority, to revisit the fraught legal landscape that it created with
its June 2022 decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had
legalized abortion nationwide.
Idaho is one of seven states to put in place in the past two years a
near-total abortion ban with no exception to protect the health of
pregnant patients, according to a U.S. Justice Department filing.
In Idaho, a so-called abortion "trigger" law adopted in 2020
automatically took effect upon Roe's reversal. Idaho's law bans nearly
all abortions unless needed to prevent a mother's death. Doctors face
two to five years in prison and suspension or revocation of their
medical license if convicted of violating it.
At the same time, EMTALA requires hospitals that receive funding under
the federal Medicare program to "stabilize" patients with emergency
medical conditions. At issue in the case is whether Idaho's ban must
yield to EMTALA when a doctor determines an abortion is the necessary
"stabilizing care."
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Flowers bloom outside the United States Supreme Court building in
Washington, U.S., June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
Following Roe's demise, Biden's administration issued federal
guidance stating that EMTALA takes precedence over state abortion
bans when the two conflict, and filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho's
ban.
Boise-based U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in 2022 blocked
enforcement of Idaho's law in cases of abortions needed to avoid
putting the woman's health in "serious jeopardy" or risking "serious
impairment to bodily functions."
The Supreme Court in January let Idaho enforce its law while also
agreeing to decide its legality.
Idaho's Republican attorney general and top Republican state
lawmakers in court papers told the Supreme Court that the state's
law and EMTALA are not actually at odds.
The Supreme Court's ruling is expected by the end of June.
It is not the only abortion case the justices are due to decide
during this presidential election year. The court is expected to
rule by the end of June in a challenge by anti-abortion groups and
doctors seeking to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, a
drug approved by federal regulators in 2000.
(Reporting by John Kruzel and Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
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