WA Joins 20 Other States In Supporting Challenge To Idaho Abortion Ban

SEATTLE — Washington this week joined with 20 other states in formally supporting the Department of Justice's legal challenge to Idaho's new restrictions on abortion, which are set to take effect later this month.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson signed the "friend of the court" brief, arguing Idaho's pending ban runs afoul of federal law and fails to provide exemptions for lifesaving care as required by the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act.

"EMTALA requires hospitals to provide emergency care to all patients," Ferguson's office wrote Tuesday. "Patients cannot be turned away or denied care until they are stabilized. In some cases, such lifesaving care may include abortion care — for example, when a patient is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage or other pregnancy complications."

Idaho lawmakers passed an abortion ban in 2020 as a "trigger law," which moved forward in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. As the Associated Press reports, the law makes abortions a crime, creating the potential for prison time for anyone who performs, attempts or assists in the procedure.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argues the law forces doctors to violate EMTALA and would cause "significant irreparable harm."

In Washington, Ferguson said the state's already-strained health care system would be further impacted by an anticipated surge in patients from Idaho seeking care across the border.

"We are already seeing a significant influx of Idahoans seeking abortion services in Washington, and that will only increase with this new, restrictive law," Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday. "What happens in Idaho directly impacts Washington. Not only is Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion wrong, it violates federal law."

The Attorney General detailed some of the impacts for Eastern Washington, where Ferguson said one clinic reported nearly 80 percent of its patients last month were from Idaho.

"Emergency rooms in Oregon and Washington will inevitably need to absorb the out-of-state patient need for care that Idaho’s law will cause, at a time when the states continue to wrestle with an ongoing global pandemic and new public health crises," Ferguson said. "Emergency departments are already faced with overcrowding, long wait times, and staff shortages, especially in rural and underserved areas such as those parts of Oregon and Washington that share a border with Idaho. An additional influx of patients needing urgent care to address an emergency medical condition will only add to these concerns."

Pending the outcome of the legal challenge, Idaho's abortion ban is set to take effect Aug. 25.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.