Idaho’s Attorney General wants lawsuit dismissed on expanding abortion

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) –  The Attorney General’s Office on Thursday presented oral arguments for a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint in Idaho’s Fourth District Court in Boise before the Honorable Jason Scott.

The case of Adkins et al. v. State of Idaho was initially filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based advocacy group that has filed similar lawsuits challenging state abortion laws in response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which remanded abortion laws to the responsibilities of the individual states. Plaintiffs seek a new and expanded right to abortion in Idaho. allowing abortions when a doctor says that a pregnant woman might face a possible health risk, regardless of whether her life is in immediate danger, potential danger, or in danger at an undetermined point in the future.

The Attorney General’s Office is asking the court to dismiss this case for two reasons. The first because the Legislature has written Idaho’s abortion statutes pursuant to their authority to write laws, and the second, the Idaho Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood Great NW v. Idaho. has already determined that Idaho’s laws restricting most abortions are indeed valid and that pregnant women do not have an implicit right to abortion under Idaho’s Constitution.

“This law was passed by the people of Idaho through their elected legislature,” Attorney General Raúl Labrador said. “Despite the plaintiff’s arguments, the current law allows a doctor to perform an abortion if he or she has a subjective, good-faith belief that there is a risk of death to the mother if it is not done.  For the plaintiffs to insist the law doesn’t go far enough is simply a matter for the legislature, not the courts, to address.”

Judge Scott indicated he would likely rule on the Motion to Dismiss sometime in January 2024.