Idaho abortion ban again partly halted amid appeal

A federal appeals court in the United States has temporarily limited Idaho’s ability to enforce its near-total abortion ban in medical emergencies while it weighs in on a legal challenge to the ban by the Biden administration. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, will rehear the case with an 11-judge panel after initially allowing the state to enforce its ban. Idaho’s near-total abortion ban includes a narrow exception for cases necessary to prevent the mother’s death. The Biden administration argued that the ban conflicted with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and a U.S. District Judge had previously blocked the law in cases of abortions needed to avoid putting the patient’s health at risk. The three-judge panel last month ruled that there was no conflict, but the full 9th Circuit will now reconsider the case.