Idaho Files Emergency Petition With US Supreme Court Over Abortion Law

Published on November 21, 2023

Idaho’s attorney general’s office filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to permit the enforcement of a statewide abortion law, coming after a lower court ruled the state can partially enforce the ban. The petition, filed on Nov. 20, comes in response to a Biden administration lawsuit filed last year, and it asks the top court to stay an injunction that prevents the state from issuing penalties to doctors who perform abortions under certain emergency situations. At issue is the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) which requires hospitals to offer abortions to stabilize a pregnant woman in an emergency situation. The federal government sued Idaho in a federal court and argued that EMTALA prohibits Idaho from enforcing the regulation, which was initially blocked by an Idaho judge, who sided with the Biden administration....