A federal appeals court upheld an injunction blocking Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador from prosecuting medical professionals for referring patients to out-of-state abortion providers. A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld a preliminary injunction issued by Idaho federal judge B. Lynn Winmill in July 2023, Idaho Capital Sun reports. The injunction stems from a lawsuit by two Idaho doctors and Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky. They sued Labrador after the attorney general issued a legal opinion saying medical professionals who referred or prescribed abortion pills to pregnant patients across state lines were subject to Idaho’s criminal penalties under the state’s near-total abortion ban. The lawsuit alleged Labrador violated the First Amendment, due process laws and the commerce clause by issuing the opinion. The 9th Circuit panel agreed with Winmill that the suing parties “established a likelihood of success on the merits of their First Amendment claim.”
After Labrador’s letter became public and the lawsuit was filed, Labrador sent a follow-up letter stating it was procedurally improper and therefore void, but didn’t say his interpretation was incorrect. The 9th Circuit panel wrote Labrador’s withdrawal of the opinion “did not disavow the Attorney General’s interpretation” and he “remained free to enforce” it. Idaho is surrounded by several states where abortion is legal, including Washington, Oregon and Montana. Idaho physicians have historically referred patients to clinics in those states if they need care that is unavailable in Idaho, such as termination for medical reasons related to fetal anomalies or complications that put a pregnant patient’s health at at risk. The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho and the Planned Parenthood affiliate that covers Idaho said Labrador’s opinion “poses a clear threat to Idahoans’ health, their lives, and their freedom.”
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