Justice Department Drops Biden-Era Idaho Abortion Lawsuit

The Department of Justice has dropped a Biden-era lawsuit that had attempted to compel Idaho to allow abortions in violation of the state’s Defense of Life Act. The move comes after a yearslong battle the pro-life state has had with the leadership of the Department of Justice under then-President Joe Biden.

The Biden administration had argued in court that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) required pro-life states such as Idaho to allow abortions if they were required to stabilize a woman in a medical condition. Idaho’s Defense of Life Act already permits an abortion according to the Idaho Attorney General’s Office “on the subjective, good-faith medical judgment of a doctor who believes the life of the mother is threatened.”

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador has contended that EMTALA and the Defense of Life Act were not in conflict. 

In January, St. Luke’s, a Boise, Idaho, hospital network, also sued Idaho in January in expectation that the Trump administration would drop the Justice Department’s lawsuit. Opponents of the Idaho pro-life protections had argued before the Supreme Court that women had to be airlifted out of the state to receive abortions in emergency circumstances, but a hospital administrator for St. Luke’s recently admitted under oath that she could not say why the women were airlifted. 

Kelsey Pritchard, director of state public affairs at SBA Pro-Life America, a pro-life lobbying group, told The Daily Signal she sees misinformation about pro-life laws as part of the abortion lobby’s overall strategy. 

“The PR stunts that the abortion lobby and abortion advocates pull, with things like that and furthering the misinformation on women’s ability to get care; that is what is, actually needing women to be confused and doctors to be confused, because the laws are pretty straightforward.” Pritchard said. 

Unfortunately for pro-life activists, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill, a 1995 appointee of then-President Bill Clinton, on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order after President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice dropped the case. The order blocks Idaho’s Defense of Life Act from being enforced by the Idaho attorney general pending a hearing. 

“Of course, this is from an activist Clinton-appointed judge, but at the end of the day, Democrat abortion extremism cost the Democrats the election, and Biden’s weaponization of the federal government is over, and the will of the people on this is very clear,” Pritchard said. 

As litigation over EMTALA will inevitably continue, pro-life groups praised the Trump administration for doing what it could.

“We thank President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and our allies in Idaho, particularly state Attorney General Raul Labrador. We continue encouraging every pro-life state to adopt ‘Med Ed’ policies to make it crystal clear how doctors can use their medical judgment and comply with the law,” said Katie Glenn Daniel, the director of legal affairs and policy counsel at SBA Pro-Life America. “Politically motivated lies and excuses are harming women and their babies, and they need to stop.”

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