Idaho Seeks SCOTUS Stay to Enforce Abortion Law
Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom, who are representing the state of Idaho, requested Monday that the US Supreme Court grant an emergency stay allowing the state to enforce its Defense of Life Act, which forbids abortion at all stages of pregnancy with exceptions for the life of the mot...
Facts
- Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom, who are representing the state of Idaho, requested Monday that the US Supreme Court grant an emergency stay allowing the state to enforce its Defense of Life Act, which forbids abortion at all stages of pregnancy with exceptions for the life of the mother and victims of rape or incest.1
- Under the law — which took effect after SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade last year — doctors and other medical professionals can face a minimum sentence of two years in prison and a six-month license suspension if found guilty of criminal abortion.1
- A stay would overturn the preliminary injunction put on by US District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in August 2022 that ruled the abortion law breaches the 1986 federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which ensures patients receive emergency “stabilizing care.”2
- In September, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit overturned Winmill’s ruling, but the full 9th Circuit court later reinstated the injunction.1
- Idaho Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador has argued the federal government is using a flawed interpretation of EMTALA, which he and the state’s lawyers say doesn’t mention abortion or require anything prohibited by the Idaho law.3
Sources: 1Forbes, 2Reuters and 3The Hill.
Narratives
- Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. SCOTUS should grant the stay or take the case. When SCOTUS overturned Roe, it gave abortion powers to the states, and this is a desperate attempt by the federal government to usurp that. EMTALA doesn’t mention abortion and can’t be used to interfere in a state’s ability to regulate the practice of medicine as it sees fit within its borders.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Huffington Post. The stay must be left in place. This law is causing immense, needless suffering not just to women but also to their medical professionals and caregivers. Beyond stripping women of their right to choose, the law is forcing practitioners to flee the state, leaving all pregnant women with a shortage of doctors, and medical costs are going through the roof.
