Ninth Circuit Restores Full Enforcement of Idaho Abortion Laws

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ordered Idaho’s abortion laws to remain fully enforceable while an appeal brought by Dr. Stacey Seyb proceeds.

The ruling pauses an August decision by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who found Idaho’s abortion ban unconstitutional in circumstances involving threats to a pregnant woman’s health. Winmill had barred Attorney General Raúl Labrador and Ada County Prosecuting Attorney Jan Bennetts from enforcing the ban under those specified conditions.

Appeal Continues

Labrador appealed Winmill’s ruling, and the Ninth Circuit granted an emergency request to halt the injunction during the appellate process. The stay restores the state’s laws but does not decide Seyb’s underlying challenge.

Seyb filed her lawsuit in 2024, arguing that Idaho’s abortion restrictions were unconstitutional because they did not include an exception for threats to the mother’s health.

Judges Consuelo Callahan and Kim McLane Wardlaw formed the majority that granted the stay after weighing four factors. The majority said Idaho has a strong interest in restricting abortions permitted under state law.

Wardlaw wrote that federal emergency-care law, known as EMTALA, requires medical personnel to provide treatment even when Idaho’s abortion ban could otherwise require a different result.

Dissent and Filing Deadlines

Judge Marsha Berzon dissented. She wrote that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs did not erase constitutional protections for abortions needed to preserve a patient’s life or health.

The defendants in the continuing appeal are Labrador, Bennetts and members of the Idaho Board of Medicine. Their final cross-appeal filing is due Feb. 19. Seyb may submit an optional final cross appeal within 21 days after that filing.

The litigation proceeds as Idaho Proposition 1 seeks to broaden abortion access, including in cases where the mother’s health is threatened.