WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday admitted to accidentally posting a document online in a botched abortion case. Acquired by Bloomberg Law before being removed from the site.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed that a document was “erroneously and briefly uploaded” to the court’s website, but added that the decision “has not been disclosed”.
NBC News has not seen a copy of the document and has not been able to independently verify the document. It is not known whether this was a draft decision, an actual decision, or neither.
The court is poised to allow emergency room doctors in Idaho to perform abortions in certain circumstances, according to a copy of the ruling. Bloomberg reported on this. Bloomberg said the court will likely reject the appeal by Idaho officials.
In doing so, the court will allow a lower court ruling in favor of the Biden administration to stand. Bloomberg reports that three conservative justices, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Neil Gorsuch, are dissenting from the conclusion.
The Supreme Court blocked the lower court’s decision in January and is allowed Idaho will fully enforce the abortion law, but will also agree to hear oral arguments in the case. Other provisions of the ban are already in force and will not be affected by the decision.
The case concerns whether a federal law governing emergency medical care should invalidate Idaho’s abortion ban. But if the court rejects the appeal, the decision leaves the legal issue unresolved.
Separately, liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court should move forward and decide a larger issue that will come up in another case in time and affect other states with abortion restrictions, such as Idaho, Bloomberg reported. .
“Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It’s a delay,” he wrote, according to Bloomberg. “While this trial is devastating and the country waits, pregnant people with medical emergencies are left in a difficult position, as are their doctors. What the law requires is being kept in the dark,” he added.
Under Idaho law, anyone who performs an abortion is subject to criminal penalties, including up to five years in prison. Health professionals found in violation of the law may lose their professional licenses.
The federal government sued a federal judge in August 2022 to block the state’s enforcement of provisions related to medical care required under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.
The 1986 law requires patients to receive appropriate emergency care. The Biden administration has argued that care should include abortions in certain situations where a woman’s health is at risk, even if death is imminent.
The Supreme Court is due to issue rulings on Thursday and Friday as its current term expires. The abortion case is one of 12 controversial cases that have yet to be resolved.