Idaho must allow abortions to preserve women’s health, US judge rules
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Idaho’s near-total abortion ban is unconstitutional because it permits abortions only when necessary to save a pregnant woman’s life, while excluding broader health risks.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill, based in Boise, said in an 81-page ruling issued late Thursday that the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment protects access to abortion when it is necessary to preserve a woman’s health. The amendment guarantees due process and equal protection under the law.
The decision is reportedly the first ruling by a federal judge since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 to recognise a constitutional right to abortion in certain circumstances.
Idaho is among about a dozen states that have enacted near-total abortion bans since the Supreme Court’s decision, while several others have imposed strict restrictions. The laws have triggered numerous legal challenges across the country.
Winmill blocked enforcement of two Idaho laws insofar as they prevent doctors from providing abortion care to women with serious medical conditions, including mental health problems that could increase the risk of self-harm or suicide.
“Pregnant women’s health is not a state resource to be allocated at the legislature’s whim,” Winmill wrote.
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said the state would appeal the ruling, arguing that the judge had improperly created a new constitutional right to abortion.
Abortion rights groups representing the doctor who brought the case welcomed the decision, saying it would reduce the risk of pregnant women suffering serious injury or death from preventable medical conditions.
However, the Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian organisation that opposes abortion, said the state’s broader abortion ban remains in place. The group noted that doctors can still face legal consequences for performing abortions prohibited under Idaho law.
Winmill declined to block another provision banning abortions when a fetus has a life-limiting condition unless the condition also presents a serious threat to the mother’s health.
The judge said states have historically recognised circumstances in which abortion may be necessary to prevent severe and lasting harm to women, arguing that Idaho’s restrictions conflict with that tradition when pregnancy poses a serious danger to a woman’s health.
Source: Reuters
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