WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court acknowledged Wednesday that it inadvertently published online a document related to a pending abortion case that was obtained by Bloomberg Law before being removed from the website.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed that a document was “inadvertently and briefly uploaded” to the court’s website, but added that the ruling “has not been made public.”
Bloomberg also posted a copy of the document. NBC News was unable to independently verify the document. It is not known whether it was a draft decision, the decision itself or neither.
The court appears determined to allow emergency room doctors in Idaho to perform abortions in certain situations, according to a copy of the ruling, Bloomberg reported. The court will likely reject the appeal filed by Idaho officials, Bloomberg said. In doing so, the court will allow a lower court ruling in favor of the Biden administration to go back into effect. Three conservative justices, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Neil Gorsuch, oppose that conclusion, Bloomberg reported.
The Supreme Court in January blocked the lower court’s ruling and allowed Idaho to fully enforce its abortion law, while also agreeing 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 regulating emergency room treatment overrides Idaho’s strict abortion ban. But if the court rejects the appeal, the ruling would leave the legal issue unresolved.
Bloomberg reported that liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote separately to say that the court should have gone ahead and decided the larger issue, which will likely come up in another case in due time and would have an impact on other states with abortion restrictions similar to Idaho. .
“Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It’s a delay,” she wrote, according to Bloomberg. “While this court delays and the country waits, pregnant people facing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires,” she added. Idaho law says that any A person who performs an abortion is subject to criminal sanctions, including up to five years in prison. Health professionals who violate the law may lose their professional licenses.
The federal government sued, leading a federal judge in August 2022 to block the state from enforcing provisions regarding medical care required by the Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Employment Act, or EMTALA.
This 1986 law mandates that patients receive adequate emergency care. The Biden administration has argued that care should include abortion in certain situations where a woman’s health is in danger, even if death is not imminent.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue rulings on Thursday and Friday as it reaches the end of its current term. The abortion case is one of 12 cases discussed yet to be decided.
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