A high-risk pregnancy doctor is suing Idaho saying the state’s abortion ban is unconstitutional.
Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Idaho bans doctors from providing almost all abortions, unless the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest or threatens the life of the mother.
Federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill will hear opening arguments in court on Monday in Boise. The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by Dr. Stacy Seyb, a maternal fetal medicine specialist.
“People have a right to medically indicated abortion for the same reason they have a right to self-defense; our society has long recognized that individuals are legally justified in defending themselves against threats of death or serious bodily harm,” wrote the Lawyering Project in a press release ahead of the trial. The organization is representing Dr. Seyb.
“Dr. Seyb wants to be able to offer abortion care to patients with serious medical needs without fear of criminal prosecution or professional discipline,” the release reads.
Under Idaho’s ban, physicians who provide abortions outside of the law’s narrow exception can face criminal prosecution, leading to felony charges and up to five years in prison. Doctors can also lose their medical licenses.
“Any time a patient has a serious medical need and would benefit from terminating their pregnancy, they should have legal access to abortion care in Idaho,” said Lawyering Project director Stephanie Toti.
“Our law and our tradition has afforded people the right to protect their lives and to protect their health in all circumstances,” she said.
That includes, the suit argues, terminating pregnancies likely to result in a still-birth, or death shortly after birth, and if patients have a medical issue, such as renal failure, that would be alleviated by abortion care.
“The law currently bars doctors from providing abortion care to patients with serious mental health conditions who are at risk of suicide and overdose,” Toti said, adding those are a leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths in Idaho and nationwide.
“The abortion bans create a real moral hazard for physicians like Dr. Seyb, who are unable to provide their patients with the full range of care that they need and are increasingly having to turn their backs on patients with serious medical needs and tell them that they have to travel out of state,” she said.
In an email, the Attorney General's office wrote there is no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution.
"[S]tates have the right to decide abortion policy," the statement reads.
"This applies to all manner of abortions, including abortions that are done for a claimed medical reason. In short, abortion, regardless of the reason for the abortion, is not deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition and is therefore not implicit in the concept of ordered liberty."
The trial is expected to run until Friday, June 12.
