The Supreme Court formally dismissed an appeal over Idaho’s strict abortion ban on Thursday, blocking enforcement of the state’s law a day after the opinion was inadvertently posted on the court’s website. The case centered around a state law that prohibited abortions except in cases where the life of the pregnant woman was at risk.
The Biden administration argued that federal law mandated hospitals to provide abortions in situations where the health of a pregnant woman was in jeopardy. The unsigned opinion prompted a mix of concurrences from both conservative and liberal justices, resulting in the dismissal of the case and a temporary halt to the enforcement of Idaho’s stringent ban.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in a partial dissent, emphasized that while the decision was a setback for Idaho, its impact is likely to be short-lived. She noted that the ruling merely amounted to a delay rather than a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho.
The Supreme Court's move to remove abortion from its docket during a crucial presidential election period is significant, although the issue is expected to resurface before the justices in the future. In a separate recent abortion case, the court unanimously ruled against anti-abortion doctors and groups challenging expanded access to the abortion pill mifepristone, citing lack of standing.
Noteworthy alongside the Idaho decision was the accidental early release of the opinion online, providing a glimpse of the outcome before its official announcement. The court swiftly removed the opinion after it was briefly available, with media outlets like Bloomberg managing to capture and share the content.
