DOJ Sues to Block Idaho Abortion Law
The lawsuit says Idaho’s abortion restrictions unlawfully conflict with a federal law that requires hospitals accepting Medicare to provide emergency treatments, including abortions.
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion, setting up the Biden administration’s first legal battle over abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, reports the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit says Idaho’s abortion restrictions unlawfully conflict with a federal law that requires hospitals accepting Medicare to provide emergency treatments, which can sometimes include abortion.
The department’s lawsuit, the first of its kind, relies on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires hospitals to provide treatment to save a patient’s life and prevent organ dysfunction or severe impairment of bodily function.