Idaho seeks to keep near-total abortion ban in place amid Ninth Circuit hearing
Idaho asked the Ninth Circuit to maintain a pause on a district court injunction that would allow doctors to perform abortions when a woman's health is at risk.
In a Tuesday hearing before the Ninth Circuit, Idaho urged the court to keep a limited stay on a district court order that temporarily shields doctors from the state's near-total abortion ban in health-risk cases. The state maintains that the injunction creates an unwarranted therapeutic-abortion loophole, while attorney Mathew Hoffmann, representing Idaho, said it leaves abortion decisions to doctors' subjective judgments.
Maternal-fetal specialist Stacy Seyb challenged the ban for three categories of health threats, including long-term risks and severe fetal complications. The district court had previously found a constitutional right to health-preserving abortions under the due-process clause, prompting an appeal. Ninth Circuit judges Marsha Berzon, Consuelo Callahan, and Kim Wardlaw probed the scope of any constitutional right to medical care, noting the Dobbs decision did not address medical exceptions. The panel has not set a timeline for its ruling.
Why it matters
The case could define how far states can restrict abortions even when a woman's health is endangered.
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