Justice Department Sues Idaho to Protect Reproductive Rights

The Justice Department is suing Idaho over its abortion ban.

Tuesday the Justice Department filed the lawsuit, alleging the state is restricting access to abortion to patients who need lifesaving medical treatment.

It's the DOJ's first challenge since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer.

"Under a federal law known as the emergency medical treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, every hospital that receives Medicare funds must provide necessary stabilizing treatment to a patient who arrives at an emergency room suffering from a medical condition that could place their life or health in serious jeopardy. In some circumstances, the medical treatment necessary to stabilize the patient's condition is abortion," the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland says.

Idaho governor Brad Little reacted to the lawsuit, calling it unnecessary and an overreach by the Biden Administration. The state's trigger law makes providing abortions a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The exceptions are for cases of rape or incest that have first been reported to law enforcement or to prevent the death of the pregnant person.

The law passed in 2020 but takes effect later this month.