


The Supreme Court seems poised to temporarily allow emergency abortions in Idaho when a woman’s health is at risk, according to a copy of what appeared to be the court’s opinion that was posted today, and then removed, from the court’s website.
The majority’s unsigned opinion said that the case was “dismissed as improvidently granted” — rather than decided on merits — according to the 22-page document, which was published this afternoon by Bloomberg News. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court said that the document had been “inadvertently” uploaded by its publications unit. She declined to confirm whether the decision was final, saying only that it “will be issued in due course.”
If the document does reflect a final decision, it would reinstate a ruling by a lower federal court that had allowed hospitals in Idaho to perform emergency abortions if necessary to protect the health of the mother, effectively narrowing the state’s near-total ban. It would be the second time this term that the justices have deflected ruling on the merits of abortion.
In related news, the Supreme Court officially released two opinions today. In the first, a significant win for the Biden administration, the justices rejected a Republican challenge that sought to prevent the government from contacting social media platforms to combat what it said was misinformation. In the second case, the court limited an anti-corruption law.