Supreme Court Allows Emergency Abortions in Idaho Despite State Ban

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The Supreme Court reinstated a lower court’s ruling allowing doctors in Idaho to perform emergency abortions when the life of the mother is endangered. 

Key Quote: In a brief, unsigned decision, the court announced the case would be dismissed, determining it had been “improvidently granted.” 

For Context: The Idaho law prohibits doctors from performing abortions unless the life of the mother or child is at risk, or in cases of rape and incest in the first trimester. It was halted by a federal judge in 2022, who ruled that state law had to yield to federal law requiring emergency medical treatment for patients. 

Details: The justices ruled 6-3 in favor of dismissing the case, with three conservative justices siding with the courts’ three liberal justices. On Wednesday, Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) reported that a similar version of this court decision was accidentally published on the court’s website and quickly removed soon after. This sparked concerns and reminders of the 2022 draft leak of the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The court reportedly implemented new protocols for managing draft decisions following this incident. On Wednesday, a court spokesperson stated the court’s publications unit “inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document” to the site. 

How the Media Covered: Outlets across the spectrum framed the decision as a victory for the Biden administration, which has championed women’s access to abortion. Outlets also noted how the overturning of Roe v. Wade continues to create contradictions between federal and state healthcare laws. 

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The Supreme Court said on Thursday that it would dismiss a case about emergency abortions in Idaho, temporarily clearing the way for women in the state to receive an abortion when their health is at risk.

The brief, unsigned opinion declared that the case had been “improvidently granted.” The decision reinstates a lower-court ruling that had halted Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion and permitted emergency abortions at hospitals if needed to protect the health of the mother while the case makes its way through the courts.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would allow emergency rooms in Idaho to carry out abortion procedures despite the state’s ban.

The decision in Moyle v. United States comes just one day after the opinion in the case was inadvertently posted and marks a blow to the six states that have enacted near-total abortion bans with narrow exceptions for life-threatening circumstances for the mother.

In a 6-3 decision, the justices decided to let stay the order of the lower court striking down the Idaho statute, dismissing the state’s petition for redress.

The Supreme Court officially announced Thursday that it would allow emergency abortions in Idaho without deciding key issues in the case, closing an unusual episode in which a draft of the decision accidentally became public a day earlier.

Since the court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, ending federal protections for abortion, the inability of women in some states to access abortions in medical emergencies has emerged as a top issue, shifting public opinion on abortion rights and galvanizing political opposition to bans on the procedure.