Justice Department asks judge to pause Idaho abortion ban

Justice Department asks judge to pause Idaho abortion ban

SeattlePI.com

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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge this week to bar Idaho from enforcing its near-total abortion ban while a lawsuit pitting federal health care law against state anti-abortion legislation is underway.

Meanwhile, the Republican-led Idaho Legislature is asking for permission to intervene in the federal case, just as it has done in three other abortion-related lawsuits filed in state courts.

“If allowed to go into effect, the Idaho law will cause significant irreparable harm, including to the public health of patients across Idaho,” Justice Department attorney Lisa Newman wrote in court documents filed Monday.

The Justice Department sued Idaho last week over the state's strict abortion ban, saying it would force doctors to violate the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a federal law that requires anyone coming to a medical facility for emergency treatment to be stabilized and treated.

The law enacted in 2020 and set up as a “trigger law” automatically takes effect on Aug. 25 now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned its landmark abortion rights ruling nearly a half-century after Roe v. Wade.

The law criminalizes all abortions, and anyone who performs, attempts or assists with abortions can face two to five years in prison in addition to losing their health care license. However, physicians who perform abortions to save a patient's life, or in cases of rape or incest, can use that information as a legal defense during the criminal trial.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires hospitals that receive federal Medicare funds to provide stabilizing medical treatment to patients experiencing medical emergencies. Some of those patients are pregnant, the Justice Department said, and in some situations that...

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