Headline Roundup • August 2nd, 2022
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Idaho's Near-Total Abortion Ban
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Idaho’s near-total abortion ban.
This marks the Biden administration's first abortion lawsuit against a state since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday reasoned that Idaho's law, which is set to go into effect on August 25, is unconstitutional because it violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The federal law, otherwise known as EMTALA, requires hospitals with a Medicare provider agreement to provide necessary stabilizing treatment to patients suffering from life-threatening medical conditions. The Idaho ban (S.B. 1309) resembles the Texas Heartbeat Act, which prohibits most abortions around the six-week mark when a fetal heartbeat is typically detected.
Left-rated coverage highlighted how the "deliberately vague" restrictions have led to abortion providers not performing life-saving care out of fear of losing their license or facing criminal consequences. Right-rated coverage emphasized how Idaho's law "does allow" doctors to perform abortions in cases of rape or incest reported to the police and accentuated critics who said the lawsuit amounted to "federal meddling."
Featured Coverage of this Story
Jim Watson/AP
The Department of Justice sued the state of Idaho on Tuesday over its six-week abortion ban ― the first litigation filed by the Biden administration to protect reproductive rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, states that Idaho’s six-week abortion ban is in direct violation of federal law because the restriction does not comply with the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The EMTALA statute requires that all patients receive appropriate medical care and stabilizing treatment in an emergency...
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s near total ban on abortion, setting up the Biden administration’s first legal battle over abortion access since the Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to end a pregnancy.
The lawsuit says Idaho’s abortion restrictions unlawfully conflict with a federal law that requires hospitals accepting Medicare to provide emergency treatments, which can sometimes include abortion.
“If a patient comes into the emergency room with a medical emergency jeopardizing the patient’s life or health, hospitals must...
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The Biden administration is suing Idaho to block the state's abortion "trigger law," arguing it has violated federal law requiring hospitals to provide medically necessary treatment to patients before discharging them.
Attorney General Merrick Garland detailed the lawsuit at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, arguing that federal law preempts state laws imposing near total bans on abortion.
“On the day Roe and Casey were overturned, we promised that the Justice Department would work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” Garland said, according to KXAS-TV. “That is what we are doing, and that...
AllSides Picks
Headline Roundup
Abortion Expansion in New Jersey Prompts Concerns About Prayer, Comparisons to Gun Legislation
August 24th, 2026
Blog
Tracking Trump’s Campaign Promises
AllSides Staff
August 13th, 2026
.webp)
Blog
Courts, Crackdowns, and Civil Right Violations: 6 New Stories You Probably Haven’t Seen
Malayna J. Bizier
August 5th, 2026
Red Blue Translator
