Idaho governor signs onto major abortion-rights challenge
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed onto an amicus brief in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could overturn the court's landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
On Thursday, he joined Republican governors from 11 other states in supporting a Mississippi law that would ban abortion at 15 weeks.
“Protecting the lives of preborn babies has always been and will continue to be a priority of mine. I am also a defender of state sovereignty. My decision to join this lawsuit to protect lives and states’ rights reflects my conservative approach to constitutional interpretation. The ‘right’ to an abortion is a judicial creation. It is not a right expressed in the U.S. Constitution. I am asking the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify there is no constitutional right to an abortion and restore state sovereignty by allowing states to regulate all abortions consistent with the principles of democratic self-governance,” Governor Little said.
The law would allow exceptions in cases of medical emergency or severe fetal abnormality.
Justices are likely to hear the case this fall and could rule on it in the spring.
The Mississippi case is the first big abortion-rights test in a Supreme Court reshaped with three conservative justices nominated by then-President Donald Trump.
