Supreme Court Divided Over Bid to Allow Emergency Abortions (1)

US Supreme Court justices clashed over the limits on state power to ban abortion when a woman’s health is in jeopardy, suggesting a deep divide over a Biden administration bid to protect access in medical emergencies.

Hearing arguments Wednesday on Idaho’s near-total abortion ban, the court’s most conservative justices questioned the administration’s reading of a federal statute that requires hospitals to stabilize patients who arrive in need of emergency treatment. The liberal justices indicated they agreed with the Justice Department that the law requires hospitals to provide abortions when necessary to prevent major health consequences.

“It says that you don’t ...