US Supreme Court Poised to Lift Idaho Abortion Restriction

The US Supreme Court appears poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of an opinion briefly posted on its website and exclusively obtained by Bloomberg Law. A 6-3 majority would reinstate a lower court order that ensured hospitals in the state could perform emergency abortions to protect the health of a mother while a legal challenge proceeds. If the final ruling in the case—the court’s first review of a state ban since eliminating a federal right to abortion—mirrors the document, it would be the second time in as many weeks the Republican-appointee dominated court pivoted away from further limiting reproductive rights. In a June 13 decision, the court preserved full access to the widely used abortion pill mifepristone. However, in both instances, the high court’s reasoning was based in part on whether the parties who brought the case had the right to do so, rather than a final adjudication on the merits. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in the posted filing that “today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay.” You can read the full text of the Supreme Court document here.

Bolivian soldiers led by a top general stormed the presidential palace in an apparent coup attempt shortly after an armored vehicle crashed into the building. Military personnel had already taken over the capital’s main square, according to images broadcast on local TV. Bolivian President Luis Arce said on social media earlier that some military units were conducting “irregular” operations and called for democracy to be respected. Arce’s socialist government has recently struggled with an economic crisis amid dwindling natural gas exports, a shortage of dollars and a currency peg that has effectively collapsed.