The US Supreme Court, on Friday, temporarily reinstated Idaho’s abortion ban, including emergency abortions, and has agreed to hear arguments on the matter. The ban, as dictated by the Section 18-622 of the Idaho Statutes, criminalizes performing or initiating an abortion, unless the failure to do so might result in the death of the mother. This comes as a reversal of a previous stay granted in October by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had halted enforcement of the law.
Interestingly, Idaho’s legislature passed Section 18-622 in 2020 as a “trigger law“, laying groundwork for a potential overturning of the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade. This case had established the implied “right to privacy” under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, providing a legal basis for women seeking abortions without interference from the government. However, this right was overturned in 2022, when the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In this ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the “right to abortion” was not an unenumerated right present within deep cultural roots, therefore, it was not implied by the Constitution.
On the federal level, the Biden administration has argued that Idaho’s law interferes with the Examination and Treatment for Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Despite this, the Ninth Circuit dismissed this claim, stating that EMTALA was specifically designed to facilitate treatment for uninsured individuals, not to legalize abortion.
Upon granting certiorari, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the case arguments will take place in April of this year. Until then, the stay on the law’s enforcement will hold. Per court documents, the stay will lift following the court’s final judgment.
For more details about this ongoing development, click here.