In a packed Boise courtroom, Idaho attorney James Craig on Tuesday invoked macabre imagery of abortions as he defended the state’s near-total abortion ban. They’re “gruesome and barbaric medical procedures,” he said in his opening statement, and described the process as one that involves “tearing a baby apart limb from limb … and crushing its skull to pull it out of the mother.”
The lawsuit against the state in the 4th Judicial District in Ada County was brought by several women and doctors who say the ban has harmed them. Craig said Idaho has an obligation to protect “unborn children” as he outlined the state’s case, much of which relied on the argument that the plaintiffs have no standing in the civil lawsuit. The case is being livestreamed online .
The grim and explicit argument is a different approach for attorneys representing the state, which has faced numerous lawsuits over abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned national abortion protections in 2022, triggering Idaho laws that restricted the procedure.