Supreme Court set to allow abortions in medical emergencies, briefly-published opinion shows

The Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies, a draft opinion briefly published on the court’s website and obtained by Bloomberg Law revealed.

A draft opinion was “inadvertently” published as the court issued other opinions on Wedensday morning. It was quickly removed.

The ruling – which is not final – shows a 6-3 breakdown with the court’s majority reinstating a lower-court ruling that ensured hospitals in Idaho provide abortions in emergency medical situations but declining to issue a firm decision in the dispute.

Instead, they will dismiss the case as improvidently granted – meaning the justices believe they should not have taken up the case.

According to the obtained draft, conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch will dissent.

Should the final opinion be consistent with the draft, the ruling would be a fragile victory for abortion rights advocates who have warned that pregnant people in states with strict abortion bans could face injury or death due to the laws in six particular states. However, because the court declines to make a firm decision it leaves the door open for future challenges.

The opinion was “inadvertently and briefly uploaded” to the court’s website, according to a statement from Patricia McCabe, the public information officer for the Supreme Court.

“The Court’s opinion in these cases will be issued in due course,” McCabe added.

It is unclear when the court will officially release the official opinions in the cases. The court is scheduled to release more opinions on Thursday and Friday.

The case comes out of Idaho, which enacted a strict abortion ban in 2022 that imposes criminal penalties on doctors who perform abortions but includes a narrow