Tough abortion law: US Department of Justice sues Idaho

The US Department of Justice is suing a state for the first time. Idaho wants to ban abortion almost completely in the future and punish doctors. But access to emergency medicine must be maintained, which could also affect abortions.

The US Department of Justice is suing the state of Idaho over its abortion law. According to the department, it violates a federal law.

It is a criminal offense for a doctor in Idaho to perform an abortion on a woman. At least that’s what the state law says, which is scheduled to go into effect on August 25th. Abortions would thus be almost completely forbidden in Idaho.

The US Department of Justice wants to intervene with a lawsuit. US Attorney General Merrick Garland argued that the Idaho law violated federal law. This obliges doctors to help pregnant women in medical emergencies. In some circumstances, an abortion is needed to stabilize a woman’s health, Garland said.

Contrary to federal law

So the federal law is in conflict with the Idaho law. Doctors there could soon be prosecuted if they perform an abortion, even if it is necessary to save a woman’s life, says the justice minister:

The Attorney General also made it clear that every effort will be made to provide pregnant women with the medical care that federal law entitles them to.

Since the US Supreme Court overturned a landmark ruling on abortion in June, a number of US states have introduced their own abortion laws, some of which are very harsh.