(The Center Square) – Attorney General Kris Mayes joined 24 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of legalizing “emergency abortion care” for Idahoans in the case U.S. v. Idaho. This brief is the most recent event in the two-year long litigation process.
The initial lawsuit stems from the reversal of Roe v. Wade resulting in a near-total abortion ban in Idaho allowing exceptions only for rape and incest, accompanied by a signed report, or the immediate death of the mother. The key difference between Idaho’s ban on abortion and federal statute occurs when a woman is facing a serious threat to her health but not an immediate risk of losing her life.
In September 2023, an Idaho District court ruled that Idaho’s abortion ban violates the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) which requires hospitals that operate an emergency department and participate in Medicare to provide emergency care to all patients in order to stabilize them or use life-saving measures.