The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Idaho’s abortion law, saying it would penalize doctors for offering medically necessary treatment protected by federal law.
The federal government filed the lawsuit to invalidate “the criminal ban on the provision of abortions to women suffering from medical emergencies,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
It is the first firm action by the Department of Justice against the so-called trigger laws approved by some states since the national Supreme Court annulled the constitutional right to abortion in June. The high court’s decision has led some states to pass restrictions on abortion and will likely lead to outright bans in about half the states in the country.
The Justice Department sued, saying the Idaho law would force doctors to violate federal law that anyone who comes to a medical facility for emergency treatment must be treated and stabilized, Garland said.
“Idaho law would make it a crime for a physician to provide emergency medical treatment as required by federal law,” Garland added.
Idaho, like many Republican states, has several anti-abortion laws passed, creating legal chaos now that the Supreme Court has struck down a woman’s constitutional right to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy.