A federal judge in Idaho partially blocked the state’s strict abortion ban on Wednesday, providing a limited but significant victory for the Biden administration, which has been trying to support reproductive rights since the Court The Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade case in June.
This month, the Ministry of Justice sue Idahoone of the most staunchly conservative states in the country, arguing that the law would prevent emergency room doctors from performing the abortions necessary to stabilize the health of women facing emergencies medical.
Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the Federal District Court in Idaho wrote in a decision published the day before the ban was issued that doctors in the state cannot be punished for acting in defense The health of mothers is at stake.
The Justice Department argued that the measure violated a federal law known as Emergency Medical Treatment and the Labor Act, this requires medical professionals at hospitals that accept Medicare funding to take whatever steps are necessary to save anyone’s life, including pregnant women.
The judge said the moratorium on enforcement would continue until the lawsuit opposing the ban was resolved.
Lawsuit is the first major action taken by the Biden administration to protect access to abortion since Decision of the Supreme Court in June states are left to determine whether the practice should be terminated. The department’s ability to influence policies in Republican states that passed so-called trigger laws, which banned abortion almost immediately following the Supreme Court ruling, is limited. Regulations and actions may affect only a small percentage of pregnant women.
State officials did not immediately respond to news of the ruling, but they are expected to appeal the decision.
Most abortions now banned in at least 10 states since the court issued its ruling, and restrictions in several other states, including Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, will go into effect this month, excluding court challenges.
Idaho Governor Brad Little, a Republican, described the Justice Department’s lawsuit as “federal interference.” The Supreme Court has “returned the abortion issue to the states for correction – end of story,” he said this month.
Idaho’s activation law does not allow abortion in cases involving rape or when a woman’s life is in danger. But there are no rules for women who are likely to experience serious health problems, including organ damage, in continuing their pregnancy.
The Supreme Court’s decision, and the race by conservative states to ban abortion, has provoked a strong political backlash. At the beginning of August, voters in Kansas resounding decision to preserve ruling in 2019 by the state Supreme Court interpreting the state’s Constitution as protecting the right to abortion. The ballot initiative is the first referendum on abortion rights since the decision by the US Supreme Court.
In July, after the federal Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance to ensure access to abortion in certain emergency situations at hospitals that receive Medicare funding, the Attorney General Texas Attorney Ken Paxton file a lawsuit against the rules.
Charlie Savage contribution report.
