The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in yet another case
dealing with abortion and reproductive rights.
This time it's from an Idaho law,
the state with one of the strictest abortion restrictions in
the country.
Scripps News congressional correspondent Stephanie Lieberman explains what is at
issue today.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade,
Idaho instituted one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans.
The state only allows the procedure if it is quote
necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.
There is an exception for victims of rape and incest,
but only in the first trimester.
The penalty for performing what Idaho calls a criminal abortion
is 2 to five years in prison.
Opponents believe it forces emergency room doctors to make an
unfair choice.
We should leave this in the hands of the providers
and let providers do what they know how to do
and save lives and never put a provider in a
situation where they have to think about saving a life
or going to jail or losing their license.
The Biden administration is challenging the law,
saying it conflicts with federal regulations,
specifically the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act,
or AMTALA. It requires emergency rooms to treat patients in
active labor and provide stabilizing care,
and the Biden administration argues that includes an abortion if
necessary.
Idaho's attorney general argues its law,
which calls for emergency room doctors to protect an unborn
child.
Is consistent with federal law.
In a filing with the Supreme Court,
Idaho argues EMTALA treats medical emergencies faced by the unborn
child of the pregnant woman no differently than emergencies faced
by the mother herself.
Since the Idaho law went into effect,
about 1/4 of the state's obstetricians have stopped practicing.
A decision from the Supreme Court will likely come down
in June.
Stephanie Lieberman, Scripps News, Washington.