WASHINGTON, Aug 25, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - A US federal judge blocked part of a
law banning most abortions in Idaho Wednesday, a victory for US President Joe
Biden's administration.

The state cannot prosecute doctors who perform abortions for the sake of the
pregnant woman's health, Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled.

The temporary injunction will remain in effect until a court case challenging
the abortion law can be decided, the judge ruled.

Idaho, a rural and conservative state, was one of the first to pass a strict
law prohibiting abortion in most cases after the US Supreme Court overturned
the national right to the procedure in June.

The rest of the bill, which remains highly restrictive, is set to go into
effect Thursday.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland had asked the court to block the whole
bill, saying it violated federal law around medical emergencies because it
did not provide an exception in cases of risk to the health of the pregnant
patient, and authorized legal action against health care providers.

Winmill said his decision is "not about the bygone constitutional right to an
abortion."

"This Court is not grappling with that larger, more profound question.

"Rather, the Court is called upon to address a far more modest issue-whether
Idaho's criminal abortion statute conflicts with a small but important corner
of federal legislation. It does," he wrote.

Despite its narrow focus, the ruling represents a win for the Biden
administration.

It "ensures that women in the State of Idaho can obtain the emergency medical
treatment to which they are entitled under federal law. This includes
abortion when that is the necessary treatment," Garland said in a statement
Wednesday evening.

Following the June Supreme Court decision,13 states have banned abortion
using so-called "trigger laws," and around half of all 50 states are expected
to ban the procedure.