Idaho judge weighs in on abortion case
The lawsuit was filed in September by the CRC
An Idaho judge partially granted the state attorney general’s attempt to have an abortion lawsuit dismissed.
Idaho Reports first published an article about how Fourth Judicial District Judge Jason Scott ruled in Adkins v Idaho, focusing on how women should receive medical care in medically complicated pregnancies.
According to Idaho Reports’ Ruth Brown:
Judge Scott’s order allowed two of their claims to survive.
The first seeks a declaratory judgment on whether a physician may “provide a pregnant person with abortion care when the physician determines, in their good faith judgment and consultation with the pregnant person, that the pregnant person has an emergency medical condition that poses a risk of death or a risk to their health.” The second seeks a declaratory judgment regarding the medical circumstances in which a physician may intervene and where Idaho’s abortion ban stops a physician.
Another claim that Scott allowed moving forward included plaintiffs’ claim seeking a declaratory judgment that the Idaho Constitution, by recognizing “enjoying and defending life” and “pursuing happiness and securing safety” as “inalienable rights” entitles a woman to abortion care in emergency situations.
The Center for Reproductive Rights filed this lawsuit on September 11, challenging the limited scope of the medical exceptions to both of Idaho’s abortion bans: a total trigger ban and a six-week ban that has “vigilante”-style civil liability provisions, according to their website.
The medical exception to Idaho’s near-total ban permits abortion only to prevent death, and its six-week ban similarly has a narrow medical exception. Clarifying the laws’ medical exceptions would allow physicians to provide life-saving care without waiting for patients to be near death. The lawsuit also seeks to clarify and expand the exceptions under the two bans to ensure physicians can provide abortion care to preserve a pregnant person’s health, including when the pregnant person has received a fatal fetal diagnosis.
The Center filed this case on behalf of seven plaintiffs: four women who were denied medically necessary abortion care in their home state, two Idaho physicians who provide obstetrical care, and a professional membership organization consisting of Idaho physicians, medical residents, and medical students.