A U.S. federal judge narrowed a previous abortion ruling on Tuesday, limiting protections to a single Boise doctor rather than applying the exemption statewide, according to court documents and reporting by the Idaho Capital Sun. U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and the Ada County prosecutor cannot enforce the state’s felony abortion ban in cases involving Dr. Stacy Seyb, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who challenged the law to protect patient health and prevent risks of self-harm.
Scope of the Narrowed Federal Ruling
The revised injunction issued by Judge Winmill means that other physicians across Idaho remain subject to the state’s near-total criminal abortion ban, according to reporting by the Idaho Capital Sun. Labrador had filed a motion arguing that Winmill’s initial decision was overly broad. Winmill agreed, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents restricting federal judges from issuing universal injunctions that block laws nationwide or beyond the specific plaintiffs in a case. Winmill wrote in his decision that an injunction limited to Dr. Seyb suffices to address the alleged constitutional harm.
Attorneys representing Seyb through the Lawyering Project and Legal Voice expressed disappointment while signaling that legal challenges will continue. Tanya Pellegrini, co-director of litigation at the Lawyering Project, stated in an emailed release reported by the Idaho Capital Sun that the legal team will keep standing with providers and patients to ensure pregnancy safety in Idaho.
Exceptions Under Idaho’s Criminal Ban
Idaho’s criminal abortion ban permits procedures strictly to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, to treat ectopic or molar pregnancies, and during the first trimester for cases of rape or incest where a police report has been filed, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Physicians who perform abortions outside these narrow statutory exceptions face criminal penalties of two to five years in prison and the revocation of their medical license. The ban does not include exceptions for self-harm or broader mental health crises, leaving other healthcare providers exposed to prosecution.
Labrador appealed Winmill’s original injunction to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 20, maintaining that the federal court’s block defies the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Although Winmill narrowed the reach of his order to protect only Seyb, the judge maintained that abortions performed to safeguard women against serious health risks or death from self-harm remain constitutionally protected under the 14th Amendment.
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