Supreme Court Allows Emergency Abortions in Idaho Despite State Ban

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.