Emergency abortion dispute gets review by US Supreme Court

By Greg Stohr

The US Supreme Court agreed to consider whether hospitals can perform abortions in emergency situations even in states that have near-total bans.

The justices said they will hear arguments from Idaho officials who say the state should be allowed to fully enforce a law that bans all abortions, except when necessary to save the mother’s life.

The court, without explanation, said the law could take full effect in the meantime, blocking a trial judge’s order that had ensured hospitals could perform the procedure in medical emergencies.

The case marks one of the Supreme Court’s first abortion tests since its 2022 ruling overturned the constitutional right established in the 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling. The high court in its current term is already considering how available a widely used abortion pill will be, reviewing a ruling that would bar mail-order prescriptions and require in-person doctor visits.

The Supreme Court said it will hear arguments on the Idaho dispute in April, meaning a ruling is likely by late June. In agreeing to hear the case, the justices took the unusual step of bypassing the federal appeals court level and saying they will directly review a federal trial judge’s ruling.

President Joe Biden’s administration contends the Idaho law must yield to a federal emergency-care law, which requires hospitals receiving Medicare dollars to provide “necessary stabilising treatment” to patients. The 1988 law, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act or EMTALA, was designed to prevent private hospitals from turning away indigent patients.

US District Judge Lynn Winmill’s August 2022 order barred Idaho from enforcing its criminal ban against hospitals and doctors who perform abortions to protect against a serious health risk to the mother. Republican officials including Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and House Speaker Mike Moyle are challenging Winmill’s order.

Lower courts have split over the issue. The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit rejected similar arguments, letting Texas keep fully enforcing its abortion ban.