Idaho Abortion Ban Lawsuit Allowed to Proceed

Judge Denies State's Request to Dismiss, Narrows Focus to Circumstances of Allowed Abortions

An Idaho judge has allowed a lawsuit challenging the state's broad abortion ban to proceed, denying a request by the state’s top legal chief to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit was filed by four women and several physicians who were denied access to abortions while facing serious pregnancy complications.
The judge narrowed the case to focus only on the circumstances where an abortion would be allowed and whether abortion care in emergency situations applies to Idaho’s state constitutional right to enjoy and defend life and the right to secure safety.
The Idaho Supreme Court has previously upheld the state’s abortion bans, but the judge stated that the court didn’t reject “every conceivable as applied challenge that might be made in a future case.”
The judge also sided with the attorney general in removing Gov. Brad Little, Labrador, and the Idaho Board of Medicine as named defendants in the lawsuit, leaving the state of Idaho as the only remaining defendant.