Idaho's Abortion Laws and Recent Developments

Idaho, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to allow its stringent abortion ban, known as the Defense of Life Act, to be fully enforced. This law is among the strictest abortion bans in the United States, imposing criminal penalties on doctors performing abortions within the state.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Idaho in 2022, contending that the law violated the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA mandates hospitals to provide emergency medical care, including medically necessary abortions, to patients.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra emphasized the right of patients to receive stabilizing emergency care, regardless of their location, stating that women shouldn’t have to be near death to access care. The DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services aim to uphold federal law safeguarding healthcare access, including abortions.

In September, a three-judge panel of Trump-appointed judges allowed Idaho to enforce the ban, but the full 9th Circuit later reversed this decision, granting the DOJ’s request to block the law during the appeal.

Physicians argue that the abortion ban’s vague language makes it challenging to discern when they can intervene in medical emergencies without facing prosecution. Doctors prosecuted under this law could face imprisonment for two to five years and the suspension or revocation of their medical license.

The fear of criminalization has led some doctors in Idaho to refuse abortion care for pregnant individuals facing medical emergencies. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit in September on behalf of women denied abortions despite serious complications.

Nancy Northup, CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, highlighted the adverse impact of abortion bans nationwide, exposing pregnant individuals to risks of death, illness, and injury. At least one hospital in Idaho has closed its obstetric department due to the state’s legal and political climate, limiting residents’ access to OB-GYN care.

_{Repurposed article originally published in the Truthout}