The nation’s top court has decided that Idaho’s abortion restriction will be overturned—under severe circumstances—just one day after it was revealed in a leaked ruling that the state would permit emergency abortions.
According to The Associated Press, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, 6-3, that abortions will be permitted in cases when the health of the expectant woman is at risk. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas joined Justice Alito in dissent.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, legislators in Idaho easily approved a bill outlawing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Rape and incest were the only reasons a pregnancy could not be terminated. Families may now sue abortion providers, according to lawmakers who supported the anti-abortion bill. Idaho was sued by the Biden administration on the grounds that it had failed to provide emergency treatment in accordance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
Women on the Supreme Court, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by President Trump, united in support of emergency abortion in May. The judges at the time chastised Idaho’s lawyers, alleging that the federal government was trying to subvert state legislation and exploit emergency care statutes.
Joshua Turner, an attorney from Idaho, stated that even in cases when women’s health was at risk of dying, he felt it was inappropriate for the federal government to get involved.
“It could be too modest” for the well-being of women,” Justice Elena Kagan retorted.
Then, on Wednesday, an opinion in the case was inadvertently put on the Supreme Court’s website, resulting in a significant legal gaffe.
The largest advocacy group devoted exclusively to health issues, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Vice President of Policy Dr. Avenel Joseph, stated that the Supreme Court still has work to do and that Thursday’s ruling is “far from a win.”
She released a statement saying, “Two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Supreme Court has failed to set a nationwide standard of reproductive health care.” Due to the Court’s dismissal of this case, state limits on women’s access to treatment can now be upheld by lower courts, creating judicial uncertainty as well as confusion in the medical community. Idaho patients can again continue receiving emergency abortion treatment without having to resort to drastic means like waiting in parking lots for their condition to worsen or being evacuated over state borders. But for doctors and patients around the nation, the future of reproductive freedom remains uncertain.
In her statement on Thursday, Joseph stated that “there is considerable work left to do to ensure that women and families across the country have access to the full range of reproductive healthcare services as well as healthcare coverage generally.” However, when it comes to health, legislators must follow the same “do no harm” philosophy as doctors. We hope that this concept will be upheld in future Supreme Court rulings regarding reproductive rights, and we call on legislators at all levels to take all necessary steps to safeguard and preserve everyone in America’s right to an abortion.
