Supreme Court fractured in Idaho case over federal laws power on abortion exceptions

The Supreme Court splintered Wednesday during oral arguments on a closely watched case out of Idaho about the extent to which a federal law trumps the state’s ban on abortion during life-and-death emergencies.Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which was passed in 1986, emergency rooms that participate in Medicare are required to provide “necessary stabilizing treatment” to individuals in dire conditions.The Biden administration has contended that EMTALA effectively supersedes Idaho’s abortion ban — which has a carveout for the life of the mother — in emergency situations.

The Justice Department filed a complaint to that end in 2022.The justices for the most part aligned along ideological lines, except for Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett.“If ER doctors can perform whatever treatment they determine is appropriate, then doctors can ignore not only state abortion laws, but also state regulations on opioid use and informed consent requirements,” Josh Turner, a lawyer representing Idaho argued.All four female justices on the high court — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Barrett — grilled Turner and dominated the first half-hour or so of oral arguments.“What you are saying is that there is no federal law on the book that prohibits any state from saying even if a woman will die, you can’t perform an abortion,” Sotomayor said at one point.Turner denied that any state in the country is banning doctors from performing abortions in the event where a woman could die without intervention.

Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson peppered Turner with various scenarios about women in peril and probed him on his interpretation of the law.“You have been presented today with very quick summaries of cases and asked to provide a snap judgment about what would be appropriate in those particular cases,” Justice Samuel Alito mused to Turner at one point.Later, Barrett chimed in and pressed Turner...