Federal appeals court strikes down Idaho's 20-week abortion ban

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Idaho abortion laws in a ruling issued Friday. The laws banned the procedure after 20 weeks and also required that all second trimester abortions be performed in hospitals.

The Idaho laws have not been enforced in the state, as a lower court judge had reached the same conclusion as the 9th Circuit. A spokesman for the Idaho attorney general was not immediately available for comment on Friday.

The Idaho case began when a local prosecutor filed a criminal complaint against Jennie Linn McCormack for self-inducing an abortion by ingesting a pack of pills. That case was dismissed, but McCormack then filed a civil lawsuit challenging several Idaho abortion statutes.

In a unanimous three-judge opinion on Friday, the 9th Circuit said U.S. Supreme Court precedent barred the Idaho laws.

The Idaho attorney general has not yet released a statement about the state's intention to appeal. But the 20-week abortion ban has been passed in 12 other states since 2010. States and anti-abortion groups are pushing very hard to have this ban reach the Supreme Court as the next challenge to chip away at Roe v. Wade. Likewise, the U.S. House voted earlier this month to impose a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks, and were clear in doing so that they are making it a litmus test for presidential candidates and intend to keep pushing it.