Idaho鈥檚 near-total abortion ban will not take full effect Thursday as planned after a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of the law.
鈥淚daho鈥檚 choice to impose severe and sweeping sanctions that decrease the overall availability of emergency abortion care flies in the face of Congress鈥檚 deliberate decision to do the opposite,鈥� wrote Idaho District Court Judge Lynn Winmill.
The law would鈥檝e banned all abortions with just three exceptions.
Survivors of rape and incest would need to file a police report and share that with their doctor, which advocates argue is unrealistic. Police reports aren鈥檛 public documents until an investigation is complete, which can take months or years.
The third exception applies when the life of the mother is in jeopardy, and that鈥檚 where the conflict lies.
A federal law regulating emergency rooms requires hospitals receiving Medicare dollars to treat anyone with severe health conditions, which the Biden administration argues can include abortions.
The Idaho Attorney General鈥檚 office argued hospitals are only required to stabilize a patient under that federal law 鈥� not cure them.
Under emergency circumstances, Winmill wrote "...the physician may well find herself facing the impossible task of attempting to simultaneously comply with both federal and state law."
Winmill went on to outline how a physician鈥檚 defense 鈥� that they thought the life of the mother was at risk 鈥� doesn鈥檛 mean they wouldn鈥檛 be risking arrest, prosecution and potential conviction based on their medical judgment for every abortion they performed.
鈥淪o even though accused healthcare workers might avoid a conviction, the statute still makes it impossible to provide an abortion without also committing a crime,鈥� he wrote, calling the exception 鈥渁n empty promise.鈥�
Winmill did not stay implementation of the law as it related to other, non-emergency abortions. The case remains ongoing.
He foreshadowed his ruling during a hearing Monday prior to oral arguments.
During oral arguments, an attorney for the Idaho legislature claimed both the state ban and federal law could operate in harmony. He said no prosecutor 鈥渋n the real world鈥� would bring charges against a physician for trying to save the life of a patient by performing an abortion.
Winmill wasn鈥檛 swayed.
鈥淓ven if the Court accepted this invitation to ignore what the law says, the Legislature鈥檚 speculations about how the law will work in practice are belied by the actual, 鈥渞eal-life鈥� experience of medical professionals in Idaho who regularly treat women in these situations.鈥�
Last Friday, a six-week abortion ban took effect in Idaho, though the U.S. Department of Justice questions whether it鈥檒l actually be prosecutable come Thursday.
That鈥檚 because the language of the six-week ban states that the near-total ban would supersede it if both are 鈥渆nforceable.鈥�
During Monday鈥檚 hearing, a lawyer for the DOJ said he believes both laws would simultaneously be included under Idaho code, despite Winmill鈥檚 stay.
The Idaho Attorney General鈥檚 office declined to comment on that potential, as well as Winmill鈥檚 decision.
Idaho House Republicans say they will appeal the ruling.
"To protect the lives of as many of these children as possible, the Idaho Legislature will pursue all legal means to bring this injunction to an end as quickly as possible."
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