In a troubling development, it appears that three justices of the United States Supreme Court voted against granting an abortion to a woman to save her life. This stance seems particularly absurd, given that if the woman died, the fetus would inevitably die as well, highlighting the extreme views of the radical right on the Supreme Court. Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the court seems poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, based on a document inadvertently posted on the court’s website in a surprising breach of protocol.
According to Bloomberg, which reviewed a copy of the opinion, a majority of the court agreed to dismiss the appeal. This release is a stunning development for the Supreme Court, which typically safeguards the release of its opinions. The abortion case in question is among the most significant of the current term, which is winding down ahead of the July 4 holiday.
This is the second major decision related to abortion controversies to be leaked. Two years ago, Politico obtained a draft of the high court’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, which was substantially the same as the final opinion released by the court weeks later.
The case centers on Idaho’s strict abortion ban, which includes an exception for the life of the pregnant woman. The Biden administration argued that federal law also requires hospitals to perform abortions in cases where the health of the pregnant woman is at risk.
A dismissal would let stand an opinion from the full 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with the Biden administration. Such a ruling would be a victory for the Biden administration and a relief to Idaho women who fear that medical complications from their pregnancies could jeopardize their health.
However, it would leave unresolved the central question of whether federal law protects access to abortion in medical emergencies, continuing the precariousness and uncertainty that doctors face in navigating strict abortion bans while caring for their patients.
The copy reviewed by Bloomberg showed the court voting 6-3 to allow emergency abortions in Idaho on a temporary basis while the case continues.
Justice Elena Kagan stated in a concurring opinion, according to Bloomberg, that the Supreme Court’s decision “will prevent Idaho from enforcing its abortion ban when the termination of a pregnancy is needed to prevent serious harms to a woman’s health.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote separately, expressing that she wouldn’t have dismissed the case. “Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay,” she wrote. “While this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.”
So apparently we have at least three justices who are so far right that they would literally let a woman die rather than get an abortion that would save her life. For now, we can only guess who those three were until the decision is released… But I think we can all figure it out.
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