During a heated Supreme Court hearing, female liberal justices grilled Idaho attorney Joshua Turner about hypothetical scenarios involving pregnancy complications that pose serious health risks to women. The discussion centered on the gruesome medical emergencies at the heart of the case. Justice Sotomayor posed a question to Turner, asking if states could prohibit abortions even if a woman’s life is in danger under Idaho’s interpretation of the federal emergency care law.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson weighed in with conflicting situations where an abortion may be necessary to stabilize a woman’s health but not required to save her life. Justice Elena Kagan then presented a scenario where a woman could lose her reproductive organs, leaving Turner struggling to provide an adequate response.
Justice Sotomayor pressed Turner further on a pregnancy complication that could lead to sepsis or hemorrhaging and questioned a scenario where a woman was denied an abortion earlier in her pregnancy, resulting in the death of the baby and a forced hysterectomy. The hearing then shifted from legal questions surrounding federal preemption of state medical regulations to a deeper exploration of the implications of Idaho’s abortion ban in medical emergencies.
Turner’s responses during the extended questioning raised skepticism from Justices Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts, who may play crucial roles as swing votes in the case.