Yesterday the United States Supreme Court issued a preliminary victory to the State of Idaho in the lawsuit brought against us by the Biden Administration. That lawsuit, known as “The United States of America vs. Idaho” – was brought by Joe Biden right after the Dobbs decision was handed down. It was a blatant attempt to interfere with Idaho’s duty to protect preborn children from the scourge of abortion.
Biden sought to regain federal control of the abortion issue by abusing the Social Security Act to claim that our hospital emergency rooms must serve as abortion clinics. The case naturally found its way into Judge Lynn Winmill’s courtroom, one of the most notorious pro-abort judges in the nation. And, in a carefully coordinated assault on Idaho’s sovereignty, some 17 liberal states entered the fray and provided moral and legal support to Biden’s DOJ by filing “Friend of the Court” briefs with Judge Winmill. They argued that Idaho could not be allowed to fully implement the Defense of Life Act. At all hazards, abortions must be performed!
Not surprisingly, Judge Winmill was readily persuaded. A week before the Defense of Life Act took effect on August 25, 2022 – Winmill issued an “emergency” order requiring Idaho hospitals perform abortions to “protect a woman’s health” if they wanted to continue receiving federal monies.
Through the courageous leadership of Sen. Chuck Winder and Speaker Mike Moyle, that order was challenged before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit. The Legislature’s special counsel presented the court with a compelling argument that Winmill’s order violated Idaho’s sovereignty; it was a tortured and incorrect reading of the Social Security law Biden was using to regulate abortions in Idaho.
The Left was shocked when that appeals court ruled – unanimously – in favor of the Legislature. They lifted Judge Winmill’s stay last fall. That allowed DOLA to go into full effect for the first time.
Biden then appealed, asking the 9th Circuit to re-hear the appeal before an “en banc” panel of the full 9th Circuit. That motion was granted. A hearing was scheduled for later this month (January 24th). In addition, the 9th Circuit re-imposed Judge Winmill’s order forcing hospitals to again perform abortions.
Attorney General Raul Labrador quickly filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court – in which he asked them to stop Winmill’s unjustifiable order from again being enforced.
Yesterday, the high court granted Labrador’s request. But they went beyond. They granted the State of Idaho a writ of certiorari – meaning they have taken the case out of the hands of the 9th Circuit altogether.
This is all very unusual – and highly encouraging. We read it to mean that the Supreme Court has determined to quash efforts by the Abortion Industry to undermine its ruling in Dobbs. In that landmark opinion, the Supreme Court declared that abortion was now a matter for the states to determine. The federal judiciary was out of the abortion business. We see yesterday’s decisive actions by the Court as sending a message to Biden and his allies that they meant what they said in June of 2022. They will not tolerate a strategy of tearing away at the edges of Dobbs.
So Idaho hospitals can now get back to the business of saving lives – not destroying them.
Glory to God.