Federal Judge Rules Idaho Abortion Ban Violates 14th Amendment When Pregnancy Threatens Health

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho's near-total abortion ban violates the 14th Amendment when a pregnancy threatens a patient's physical or mental health — the first constitutional abortion rights ruling since Dobbs v. Jackson. Idaho's Attorney General has appealed. The ruling affects how states can enforce health exceptions in abortion bans. If upheld on appeal or considered by the Supreme Court, the decision could establish a narrow constitutional right to abortion care in health-threatening pregnancy scenarios, potentially affecting the other four states with near-total bans and no health exception (Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota).

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