Idaho Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Abortion Ban Modeled on Texas Law

The Idaho Supreme Court temporarily blocked implementation of an abortion law modeled on Texas’s bill banning abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

The court granted the stay in response to a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood. The organization operates three of the four abortion providers based in the state, according to the Idaho Statesman.

The temporary stay means that Idaho’s abortion law will not go into effect as scheduled on April 22, as both sides prepare for expected arguments. The Supreme Court must rule on the lawsuit before the bill can take effect.

The Planned Parenthood branch covering the northwestern U.S. sued the state after Idaho governor Brad Little, a Republican, signed the bill.

The law allows family members of a “preborn child” to sue abortion providers for at least $20,000 if an abortion is performed when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, or at around the sixth week of pregnancy. While the law provides exemptions in the case of rape or incest, a woman seeking an abortion would be required file a police report in order to obtain an exemption.