The Supreme Court of the United States has temporarily ruled in favour of emergency abortions in the state of Idaho. The decision comes after SCOTUS observed that the abortion ban in Idaho was in conflict with the Federal government's EMTALA act.
In Idaho, abortions are only allowed if the life of the pregnant woman is at risk or in cases of pregnancy due to rape, incest, etc. However, as per the federal government, the state does not take into consideration the overall health of the woman
With this ruling of the Supreme Court, women in Idaho will be allowed to receive emergency abortions across hospitals in the state for the time being.
The Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favour of the dismissal of the case. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from allowing emergency abortions.
Whereas, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh supported the liberal justices and dismissed the plea.
Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson gave a partial dissent due to the impact of the ruling being "short-lived".
“Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay," stated Jackson in her dissent.
"While this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires," the Justice said, adding that there was "no good reason not to resolve this conflict now".
SCOTUS' ruling also comes after it accidentally released an opinion which suggested that emergency abortions will be allowed in the state.
The Supreme Court's decision, as of now, will offer doctors protection from prosecution if they decide that an abortion is the best treatment for a pregnant woman.
The decision will also help pregnant women seeking emergency treatment in the state. Due to the state ban and the overtuning of Roe v Wade in 2022, many pregnant women risked their lives to travel from state to state to seek an abortion.
The case will now go to the lower courts for further evaluation as the conflict between the state law and EMTALA remains.
As per the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, revised by the Biden Adminsitration in 2021, a doctor must provide stabilizing treatment to any patient who comes in due to an emergency.
In 2022, the Biden administration further clarified that under EMTALA, doctors may perform an abortion if it was necessary to treat an emergency medical condition. Idaho’s Defense of Life Act of 2022 stands in violation of this clause of the federal law.
