A federal judge on Wednesday said physicians in Idaho can continue providing abortions in emergencies, blocking part of a state ban that sought to criminalize providers for performing the procedure from taking effect.
The Department of Justice sued the state of Idaho earlier this month, alleging its ban was in direct conflict with a federal law that requires hospitals with Medicare funding to provide needed care to any patient who arrives at an emergency room.
Under the federal law, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals must stabilize a patient before transferring or discharging them. The DOJ argued in its complaint that abortions are sometimes necessary emergency treatment to stabilize a patient.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill agreed.
Winmill ruled in the DOJ’s favor and issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, delivering a win for the DOJ in its first legal challenge since the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion.
The job of a physician is “difficult enough as it is,” Winmill, a President Bill Clinton appointee, wrote in the ruling. Under the state law, “the physician may well find herself facing the impossible task of attempting to simultaneously comply with both federal and state law.”
“Which law should she violate?” the judge asked in the opinion.
The case is simply about the supremacy clause, Winmill found. “And that’s all this case is about.”
The court is not grappling with the larger question about the constitutional right to an abortion, the judge said. Instead, it’s about whether Idaho’s criminal abortion statute conflicts with federal legislation, and it does, Winmill said.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden’s administration has worked to preserve access to abortion. The DOJ has reminded providers of their obligation under EMTALA after hearing reports of women facing delays and denials for emergency care during pregnancy.
“Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in July.
However, a Texas judge, appointed by former President Donald Trump, blocked the Biden administration’s emergency abortion care guidance, arguing it went beyond the scope of law in Texas.
Following the fall of Roe, states have been left to decide abortion access, creating a patchwork of state laws on abortion care and putting the service out of reach for millions of women.