SCOTUS hears Idaho abortion ban case, including in medical emergency situations

WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments Wednesday concerning the legality of Idaho's near-total ban on abortions, including in medical emergency situations.

The justices are being asked to determine whether Idaho's law conflicts with federal law aimed at ensuring certain standards for emergency medical care for patients, including pregnant women.

The Biden administration sued claiming Idaho's law conflicts with the federal law.

Idaho's 2020 law, called the Defense of Life Act, went into effect in 2002 when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

It calls for for anyone who performs an abortion is subject to criminal penalties, including up to five years in jail and the forfeiture of their professional licenses. There is an exception for abortions to protect the mother's life.

The federal law, enacted in 1986, requires that patients receive appropriate emergency room care.

The Biden administration argues that care should include abortions in certain situations.

The law applies to any hospital that receives federal funding under the medicare program.

The suit claims the state law is too narrow and only allows for an abortion to save a woman's life, but not "merely to avoid grave harm to health," and that the conflict can put doctors in a difficult position having to decide which law to follow.