Biden Justice Department Challenges Idaho Abortion Ban Over Medical Emergencies

The Biden administration on Tuesday sued Idaho over a strict state abortion ban that is expected to take effect this month over medical emergencies to protect a mother's health.

The Justice Department said that the state's laws would inhibit emergency room doctors from performing abortions that are necessary to stabilize the health of women facing medical emergencies.

Idaho's Abortion Ban

The lawsuit, which was announced by Attorney-General Merrick Garland, is the first that was filed to protect access to abortion after the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade. That decision ended the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies across the nation.

Since then, Garland noted during a Tuesday news conference that "there have been widespread reports of delays, and denials of treatment to pregnant women experiencing emergencies."

The lawsuit also argues that federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, bars states from imposing restrictions that would prevent emergency room doctors from treating those women, as per the New York Times.

Garland noted that if a patient comes into the emergency room with a medical emergency jeopardizing the patient's life or health, the hospital must provide the treatment necessary to stabilize that patient. The attorney-general said that this includes abortion when that is the necessary treatment.

The litigation also comes as Kansas voters went to the polls to decide whether or not to overturn a 2019 ruling by the state's Supreme Court. The decision was to interpret the state's Constitution as protecting abortion rights.

According to Fox News, Idaho's ban only has exceptions for incest or rape that are reported to law enforcement, or when a physician determines "in his good-faith medical judgment and based on facts known to the physician at the time, that the abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.

Access to Emergency Healthcare

In a statement, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said that patients have the right to "stabilizing hospital emergency room care" regardless of state law. He said that women should not have to be near death to get healthcare.

The official noted that the Department of Health and Human Services will continue its work with the Justice Department to enforce federal law protecting access to healthcare, including abortions.

Becerra issued guidance to healthcare providers last month that notes physicians "must" provide an abortion if it is the "stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve" an emergency medical condition.

However, Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit challenging that guidance, arguing that the Biden administration is "flagrantly disregarding the legislative and democratic process" by mandating "that hospitals and emergency medicine physicians must perform abortions."

During the news conference, Garland said that they will use every tool at their disposal to ensure that pregnant women have access to emergency medical treatment to which they are entitled under federal law.

But Idaho Attorney-General Lawrence Wasden disagreed with Garland's reading of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. He declared in a statement that the state law restricting abortions with few exceptions is allowed under the federal statute, the Washington Post reported.