The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to uphold its near-total abortion ban, while also agreeing to hear a lawsuit by the Biden administration challenging the state’s law.
The high court granted a request by Idaho officials last Friday to temporarily lift a federal judge’s ruling that blocked the state’s pro-life measure.
Idaho’s Defense of Life Act imposes penalties on physicians who perform prohibited abortions unless doing so is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman and includes other exceptions.
The pro-life law was enacted in 2020 and took effect when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The law includes provisions that make it a felony for anyone who performs or assists in an abortion, with penalties of imprisonment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years. Those violating the law could be fined up to $20,000.
However, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed the state’s abortion ban is preempted by the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires hospitals that receive Medicare funds to provide emergency medical care.
The DOJ argued that EMTALA requires health care providers perform abortions because it contends they can
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