The U.S. Supreme Court will allow emergency abortions to proceed in Idaho, which had banned them even when the pregnancy threatened the life of the mother. The ruling, leaked yesterday, is now official [pdf].
The court did not address the underlying question of whether the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, trumps Idaho's near-total ban in certain circumstances. Instead, the decision indicates the Supreme Court believes it intervened in the dispute too soon. The case is likely to return to the high court after more proceedings.
Still, the ruling is a victory for the Biden administration, although likely a temporary one. The government has argued that EMTALA requires hospitals in states with the most stringent restrictions to offer abortions in certain medical emergencies when necessary to prevent harms to the mother's health.
Gilead's capital will not be Boise. It's not so much a victory for women as a stay on total defeat in Idaho.
Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch dissented on obvious grounds, with a partial dissent from Justice Jackson, who wanted the law dealt with more thoroughly: "Today's decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho," Jackson wrote. "It is delay." Presumably this would have been an email if Justice Barratt had not sided with the liberals.
