U.S. Sues Idaho Over Abortion Law
Newsy
Federal prosecutors believe Idaho's ban would force doctors to violate a federal law that requires medical facilities to provide emergency treatment.
The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit that challenges Idaho's restrictive abortion law, arguing that it conflicts with a federal law requiring doctors to provide pregnant women medically necessary treatment that could include abortion.
The federal government brought the lawsuit seeking to invalidate the state's "criminal prohibition on providing abortions as applied to women suffering medical emergencies," Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The announcement is the first major action by the Justice Department challenging a state trigger law since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The court's decision has led some states to enact restrictive abortion laws and is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states in the U.S.
