This is the first abortion law challenge since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Back in 2020, the state government of Idaho passed a trigger law that would enact a near-complete ban on abortion procedures within its borders, punishing any doctors who administer them with up to five years in prison. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the law is slated to go into effect later this week. Ahead of that, however, the United States Department of Justice has sued to block the law.

“The Idaho law would make it a criminal offense for doctors to comply with EMTALA’s requirement to provide stabilizing treatment, even where a doctor determines that abortion is the medical treatment necessary to prevent a patient from suffering severe health risks or even death,” the Justice Department said in its lawsuit.

“In the days since the Dobbs decision, there have been widespread reports of delays or denials to pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters yesterday. “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that pregnant women get the medical care that they are entitled to.”

The Justice Department’s case follows heavy pushback from Idaho’s medical provider community, who have said that while the law does technically have exceptions for emergency situations like miscarriages, the rules of the law are extremely vague. As such, they can’t know for certain if they’d be permitted to perform a procedure without endangering both themselves and their patients.

The Idaho Supreme Court will hear the Justice Department’s case later today.