U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland briefs press on DOJ lawsuit challenging Idaho abortion law

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U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland briefs press on DOJ lawsuit challenging Idaho abortion law

(Attorney General Merrick Garland is scheduled to begin speaking at 1:30 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if the video above doesn't play at that time

(Attorney General Merrick Garland is scheduled to begin speaking at 1:30 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if the video above doesn’t play at that time.)

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block Idaho’s new restrictive abortion law on the grounds that it violates federal law requiring most hospitals to give medically necessary treatment to patients before discharging them.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon detailing the lawsuit.

The suit filed in Idaho federal court notes that the state “has passed a near-absolute ban on abortion,” which after taking effect Aug. 25 will make it a criminal offense to perform an abortion “in all but extremely narrow circumstances.”

Garland said that ban conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires a hospital that accepts Medicare funds to provide treatment at their emergency departments to stabilize a patient necessary to stabilize their medical condition before transferring or discharging the patient.

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