When can doctors provide emergency abortions in states with strict bans? Supreme Court to weigh in

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two years after overturning the constitutional right to abortion, the Supreme Court will consider how far state abortion bans can extend to women in medical emergencies. The justices are weighing a case Wednesday from Idaho, where a strict abortion ban went into effect shortly after the high court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The Biden administration argues that hospitals must be allowed to terminate pregnancies in emergencies where a patient’s health is at serious risk. Idaho says the Biden administration is trying to expand the definition of emergencies and turn hospitals into “abortion enclaves.”  Doctors say the state’s strict abortion ban has already affected emergency pregnancy care, forcing more women to be flown out of state for treatment.