According to Bloomberg News, a document posted briefly to the court’s website suggested a majority of the justices would reinstate a lower-court ruling that paused the state’s near-total abortion ban.
The Supreme Court seems poised to temporarily allow emergency abortions in Idaho when a woman’s health is at risk, according to a copy of what appeared to be the opinion that showed up briefly on the court’s website on Wednesday.
The unsigned opinion dismissed the case on procedural grounds, stating that the court, for now, would not address the merits of the dispute, according to the 22-page document, which was published by Bloomberg News. Such a decision would reinstate a ruling by a lower federal court that had paused Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion and said hospitals in the state could perform emergency abortions if necessary to protect the health of the mother.
The case centers on whether a federal law requiring emergency care for any patient overrides Idaho’s strict abortion ban, which outlaws the procedure with few exceptions unless the woman’s life is in danger.
It was unclear whether the document was final, and a spokeswoman for the court said only that a decision in the joined cases, Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, would eventually be released.
“The court’s publications unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the court’s website,” said the spokeswoman, Patricia McCabe. “The court’s opinion in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States will be issued in due course.”