Ten medical and public health organizations have filed afriend of the court brief supporting the Justice Department's lawsuit against Idaho’s near-total abortion ban.
The brief says there’s an ethical conflict between the abortion ban and emergency medical standards. Emergency Room physicians follow guidelines from the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act which says they must provide treatment to any patient until their medical crisis is resolved or stabilized.
It also says they can’t withhold treatment for non-medical reasons. The brief says Idaho’s ban directly interferes with patients’ federal right to receive medical treatment for their individual needs.
The authors call the law “unworkable” because they say it requires emergency physicians to either withhold care or risk criminal prosecution.
The brief was filed on behalf of organizations including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The abortion ban is set to take effect in Idaho on August 25.
