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| Photo Credit: AP. |
A federal judge Wednesday barred the state of Idaho from enforcing abortion ban in medical emergencies on grounds it likely violates a federal law on emergency care.
The Idaho
abortion ban makes performing an abortion in any “clinically diagnosable
pregnancy” a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, The Associated
Press reports. Certain parts of the law will take effect Thursday.
The ruling
by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill prohibits the state from prosecuting
anyone performing an abortion in an emergency medical situation.
What emergency case under federal health care law?
Abortion in
such cases fall under a federal health care law requiring Medicare-funded
hospitals to provide “stabilizing treatment” to patients, The Associated Press
quoted Winmill as saying.
Such emergency
cases also includes when the health of a pregnant patient is in serious
jeopardy, when continuing the pregnancy could result in a serious impairment to
a person’s bodily functions, or a serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or
part, The Associated Press reported.
The judge
said in a written ruling that the pause on enforcement in Idaho will continue
until a lawsuit challenging the ban is resolved
Earlier this
month, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Republican controlled state of
Idaho arguing the abortion ban set to take effect Thursday violates the federal
Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor (EMTALA) Act, according to The Associated
Press.
Justice Department sued Idaho over abortion ban in medical emergencies
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the Republican-led state of Idaho earlier this month, saying the abortion ban set to take effect on Thursday violates the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor (EMTALA) Act. The abortion ban in Idaho criminalizes all abortions in “clinically diagnosable pregnancies,” but allows physicians to defend themselves in court by arguing the procedure was necessary to avert the death of the mother, according to The Associated Press.
Performing
an abortion creates an “emergency medical condition” in the fetus or embryo,
the judge wrote, according to The Associated Press.
“Since the
statute is silent on the question, the Guidance cannot answer how doctors
should weigh risks to both a mother and her unborn child,” the judge’s order
said. “Nor can it, in doing so, create a conflict with state law where one does
not exist. The Guidance was thus unauthorized.”