(Washington) The American Supreme Court with a conservative majority on Thursday once again authorized abortion in cases of medical emergency in Idaho, where it is almost completely prohibited, by dropping an appeal from the Republican authorities of this state.
Published at 11:44 a.m.
Democratic President Joe Biden welcomed the decision in a statement, saying “no woman should be denied care, forced to wait until she is in mortal danger, or flee her state simply to receive the care she needs.” she needs “.
This decision was widely expected after the brief publication of a version of the document on Wednesday on the Court’s website, reported by the Bloomberg agency.
Three conservative judges and two progressive judges consider that the Court “inopportunely granted” this appeal against a first instance decision, of which it therefore lifts the suspension, and refers the case to the lower courts.
In its landmark June 2022 ruling that struck down the federal guarantee of the right to abortion, the Court gave states full latitude to legislate in this area. Since then, about twenty states have banned abortion, whether performed by medication or surgery, or have strictly regulated it.
Among them, rural and conservative Idaho (northwest) only allows rare exceptions, such as in cases of incest or imminent danger of death for the pregnant woman. Outside of this framework, anyone performing an abortion risks up to five years in prison.
But in 2022 a federal judge, seized by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, partially blocked the application of this law to the extent that it would contradict a federal law on medical emergencies.
The federal law, called EMTALA, requires hospitals affiliated with the government health insurance Medicare – the majority of them – to treat anyone with a medical emergency.
But in January, the Supreme Court suspended the first instance decision while it ruled on the merits, therefore restoring the ban on abortion in Idaho in its full application.
After hearing arguments from both sides in April, the majority of judges now believe that it is up to the lower courts to decide.
“The arguments of the State of Idaho on the EMTALA law do not justify and have never justified either an emergency appeal or our early entry of this litigation,” writes progressive judge Elena Kagan.
This decision “will therefore prevent Idaho from applying its ban on abortion when the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to prevent serious harm to a woman’s health,” she specifies.
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett agrees, calling the court’s decision to take up the case at this stage “a miscalculation, because the positions of the parties are still evolving.”
