Medical groups, 20 states weigh in on Idaho abortion lawsuit

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Medical groups and states across the U.S. are watching as a legal battle over abortion rights pits the deep-red state of Idaho against the Department of Justice. As of Wednesday, 20 states, the American College of Emergency Physicians and other medical groups have filed “friend of the court” briefs in the lawsuit over Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. The Idaho law makes performing nearly any abortion a felony, but allows physicians to defend themselves in court by showing that the procedure was necessary to save a patient’s life. But federal health care law requires Medicaid-funded hospitals to provide “stabilizing” treatment to patients, and the Department of Justice says that includes some emergency abortions.