April 24, 2024, 12:21 PM ET
The Supreme Court justices appear to be divided on the abortion case, with Roberts and Barrett emerging as the leading votes.
From CNN's Tierney Snead
Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Alex Wong/Getty Images/File
At today's Supreme Court hearing on the Biden administration's challenge to aspects of Idaho's strict abortion ban, U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger argued that as recently as two years ago, states should have the power to ban abortion procedures. He argued that he would appeal to the conservative judges who ruled that the case was.
The controversy stems from the Justice Department's high-profile response to the high court's 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, which made the federal government's mandate for hospital emergency room treatment more At issue is whether it overrides a ban on abortion, which is not exempt except in cases where health is at risk. Lives are not yet threatened.
Preloger argued there was a real conflict between the Idaho law and a federal law known as the Emergency Medical Labor Act, which she portrayed as narrow. She stressed that in this case, the administration is not trying to interfere with Idaho's ability to criminalize abortion outside of medical emergencies covered by EMTALA.
Main votes: The Biden administration will need the votes of the court's two conservative members to win, but given Justice Brett Kavanaugh's sympathy for Idaho, the case will be decided by Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy・It is likely to depend on Chief Justice Coney Barrett's vote.
The two judges asked tough questions for both sides of the case. The far-right wing of the court, perhaps in an effort to curry favor with these swing justices, branded the case as an overreach of state power by the federal government.
The court's liberals, meanwhile, focused on the gory details of the medical emergencies faced by pregnant women who are not covered by the limited women's life exemption in the Idaho ban.
