Idaho Abortion Ban Barred in State’s Largest Health System

Idaho’s attorney general may not prosecute hospitals or doctors within the state’s largest health system for performing abortions when necessary to stabilize a patient’s emergency medical condition, a federal court said.

The state law criminalizing abortions in nearly all circumstances conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act in situations where an abortion would be the sole treatment that would stabilize a patient, the US District Court for the District of Idaho said.

Judge B. Lynn Winmill acknowledged that the Idaho law would allow an abortion if necessary to save the patient’s life. But there are medical ...