An order that blocks Idaho from enforcing its near-total abortion ban against health-care providers who use the procedure to treat medical emergencies was left in place on Tuesday by a federal judge.
The temporary restraining order obtained by the state’s largest health-care system was set to expire upon Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s planned hearing on Wednesday concerning St. Luke’s Health System Ltd.'s motion for a preliminary injunction and the US’ motion to dismiss the case.
Winmill, of the US District Court for the District of Idaho, granted the motion to keep the TRO in place for now. He will proceed with the hearing and will maintain the status quo until he decides on the injunction and dismissal motions, he said.
The US Department of Justice told Winmill on Tuesday that it intends to drop a second lawsuit in which the Biden administration sued the state alleging that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act preempted the abortion ban.
The US’ move wasn’t unexpected, as St. Luke’s sued Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador (R) in January in an attempt to preserve the argument that the state’s abortion ban irreconcilably conflicts with the federal law, which obligates hospitals to screen and stabilize patients for emergency medical conditions before discharging or transferring them. A July 2022 guidance from the US Department of Health and Human Services reminded hospitals they must comply with that obligation even in states where abortion was illegal.
In its Tuesday motion, the health system said that even a short period without an injunction would “once again require them to airlift patients out of state should a medical emergency arise so that those patients can consider the full spectrum of medically indicated care, including termination of pregnancy.”
Stoel Rives LLP and Jenner & Block LLP represent St. Luke’s. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office represents the state.
The case is St. Luke’s Health Sys., Ltd. v. Labrador, D. Idaho, No. 25-cv-15, 3/4/25.
(Updates throughout with additional context around case and upcoming hearing.)
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