In an order late Thursday, state supreme court justices chose to take up a new lawsuit from Planned Parenthood filed earlier this week.
The group wants the court to block the implementation of a law that would ban nearly all abortions in Idaho. It’s set to take effect in mid-to-late August.
Lawmakers passed that legislation in 2020 to take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overruled its decision in Roe v. Wade. The high court did just that last week.
If implemented, abortions would only be allowed in cases of rape, incest and if a pregnancy threatens the life of a mother.
Abortion rights advocates question how realistic those exceptions are since rape and incest survivors must first report the crime to the police and then deliver a copy of the report to their doctor. Those reports aren’t publicly available while an investigation is ongoing.
Planned Parenthood also wants to invalidate a Texas-style abortion ban passed earlier this year. The group filed that lawsuit in March. Both cases will be considered on Aug. 3.
In its order, though, the Idaho Supreme Court warned that part of Planned Parenthood’s arguments rested on the Roe decision, which is now invalid.
The court said Planned Parenthood and the state will have to prepare arguments on whether it should block the trigger ban, whether both cases should be combined or if a lower court should take up the matter first.
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