There have been lots of developments on the abortion issue in recent days—most recently a federal court decision purporting to find a constitutional right to abortion when a mother threatens to commit suicide.
Laura Guido with the Idaho Capital Sun covered the issue late last week. Here’s an excerpt from her article, “Idaho judge ruling allows abortion if it protects mother’s health, prevents self-harm” (August 13, 2026):
A pregnant woman may receive abortions in many cases if there are serious risks to her health or if there’s a high risk she will harm herself, an Idaho federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Court of Idaho Judge B. Lynn Winmill in his 81-page decision blocked the Idaho attorney general or Ada County prosecutor from enforcing Idaho’s criminal laws that prohibit providing abortions in narrow cases to protect the mother’s health.
The Idaho Family Policy Center, a Christian political advocacy group that opposes abortion, denounced the decision in a press release Thursday. The policy center helped author Idaho’s civil enforcement abortion law, which allows family members of an aborted fetus to sue the abortion provider for a minimum of $20,000.
“It’s important to recognize that the civil cause of action in the Heartbeat law still remains in effect — meaning that any physician who performs an abortion that is prohibited by the Heartbeat law can still be liable for breaking the law,” policy center President Blaine Conzatti wrote in the press release. “And doctors should take note: The IFPC Legal Center stands ready to hold doctors accountable who illegally perform abortions.”
Conzatti wrote that he expects the decision to be overturned, arguing that the U.S. Constitution does not protect abortions for mental health reasons.
As Attorney General Raul Labrador explained, “Judge Winmill did exactly what the Supreme Court rejected in Dobbs: he legislated from the bench and manufactured a new constitutional right to abortion.”
WATCH: IFPC PRESIDENT BLAINE CONZATTI BREAKS DOWN THE ABORTION RULING
Attorney General Labrador plans to appeal the ruling soon. We expect that it will be overturned on appeal quickly.
But in the meantime, let’s be praying for our state—and for the babies whose lives hang in the balance.
