Idaho Lawmakers to Help Defend Abortion Law in Federal Lawsuit

The Idaho legislature can join the defense of a first-ever lawsuit by the US challenging Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion but it’s limited to attempting to show “the holes in the ‘factual’ foundation” of the argument that the ban violates an emergency care law, a federal judge said.

The Department of Justice sued Idaho in early August, arguing that the ban’s narrow exception for procedures necessary to prevent the death of a pregnant person conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. EMTALA requires hospitals that receive federal money to screen patients who come to emergency rooms with ...