Biden Faces Abortion Tangle in Mixed Rulings on Emergency Access
- Idaho judge blocks state law allowing doctors to be prosecuted
- But Texas judge says federal mandate doesn’t pre-empt state
The showdowns in Texas and Idaho offer a preview of how fights in other conservative states with laws aimed at criminalizing abortion may play out.
Photographer: Emily Elconin/BloombergThe Biden administration’s effort to ensure access to abortions in medical emergencies notched a win and a loss in courts in the span of a single day, showing the difficulty the federal government will have in pushing its agenda in conservative states.
Late Wednesday, the administration won a temporary block to an Idaho law that was due to go into effect Thursday and allowed for the prosecution of doctors who perform abortions. The ruling in Boise came even after Idaho legislators offered to change the state’s so-called trigger ban in response to US District Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s criticism that it conflicts with medical protections under a federal statute.