Supreme Court Allows Emergency Abortions in Idaho Despite State Ban

The Supreme Court reinstated a lower court’s ruling allowing doctors in Idaho to perform emergency abortions when the life of the mother is endangered. 

Key Quote: In a brief, unsigned decision, the court announced the case would be dismissed, determining it had been “improvidently granted.” 

For Context: The Idaho law prohibits doctors from performing abortions unless the life of the mother or child is at risk, or in cases of rape and incest in the first trimester. It was halted by a federal judge in 2022, who ruled that state law had to yield to federal law requiring emergency medical treatment for patients. 

Details: The justices ruled 6-3 in favor of dismissing the case, with three conservative justices siding with the courts’ three liberal justices. On Wednesday, Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) reported that a similar version of this court decision was accidentally published on the court’s website and quickly removed soon after. This sparked concerns and reminders of the 2022 draft leak of the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The court reportedly implemented new protocols for managing draft decisions following this incident. On Wednesday, a court spokesperson stated the court’s publications unit “inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document” to the site. 

How the Media Covered: Outlets across the spectrum framed the decision as a victory for the Biden administration, which has championed women’s access to abortion. Outlets also noted how the overturning of Roe v. Wade continues to create contradictions between federal and state healthcare laws.