Driving the news: Idaho’s ban is set to take effect in late August, and would make abortion illegal unless needed to save a pregnant person’s life. The DOJ argues the state’s ban has “extremely narrow” exceptions and conflicts with federal law, which allows for abortions to be performed in emergency situations.
What they’re saying: “The suit seeks to hold invalid the state’s criminal prohibition on providing abortions as applied to women who are suffering medical emergencies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference.
Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, “every hospital that receives Medicare funds must provide necessary stabilizing treatment to a patient who arrives at an emergency room suffering from a medical condition that could place their life or health in serious jeopardy. In some circumstances, the medical treatment necessary to stabilize the patient’s condition is abortion.”
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