DOJ Sues To Block New Idaho Abortion Law , Following Dobbs Ruling by Supreme Court.
DOJ Sues To Block New Idaho Abortion Law , Following Dobbs Ruling by Supreme Court.
CNBC reports that the U.S. Justice Department filed the lawsuit on Aug. 2.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the state “has passed a near-absolute ban on abortion” which is set to go into effect on Aug. 25.
The new law "will make it a felony to perform an abortion in all but extremely narrow circumstances," according to the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that Idaho's new abortion law violates the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
The federal legislation requires hospitals that accept Medicare funds to provide, "necessary stabilizing treatment to patients who arrive at their emergency departments while experiencing a medical emergency" before discharging them.
This may be the case, for example, when a woman is undergoing a miscarriage that threatens septic infection or hemorrhage, or is suffering from severe preeclampsia, Merrick Garland, via news conference.
It is the first DOJ lawsuit targeting an individual state's abortion laws following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. .
It is the first DOJ lawsuit targeting an individual state's abortion laws following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. .
The Dobbs ruling concluded that abortion is not a
federal constitutional right, even though it had been
previously deemed as such for nearly 50 years. .
Today, the Justice Department’s message is clear — it does not matter what state a hospital subject to EMTALA operates in. , Merrick Garland, via news conference.
If a patient comes into the emergency room with a medical emergency, jeopardizing the patient’s life or health, the hospital must provide the treatment necessary to stabilize that patient.
This includes abortion, and that is
the necessary treatment, Merrick Garland, via news conference