After initial review, the Supreme Court has revived an Idaho abortion law that a federal trial judge partially blocked in 2022, NBC News reported Jan. 5.
The Supreme Court put the previous ruling on hold in response to emergency requests from Idaho officials. The court will hear oral arguments in April regarding the law and will issue a ruling before the end of June, NBC News reported.
The state's Defense of Life Act was enacted in 2020 and stated that if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it would go into effect.
Under the law, anyone who performs an abortion or attempts to could face criminal charges; however, it does provide a few exceptions should an abortion be necessary to protect a pregnant woman's life.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the law went into effect. This decision prompted the federal government to sue, and in August 2022, a federal judge blocked the state from implementing provisions regarding required medical care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
"These bans are also forcing doctors to leave Idaho and other states because of laws that interfere with their ability to care for their patients. This should never happen in America," a Jan. 5 statement from President Joe Biden said.