Judging Freedom - Justice Dept sues Idaho over abortion ban

Episode Date: August 2, 2022

Justice Department sues Idaho over abortion ban in first post-Roe litigation Attorney General Garland has repeatedly said that the Department of Justice "is going to use every tool we have to ensure reproductive freedom" and was reviewing its options. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/just... #abortion #prolife #womensrightsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Tuesday, August 2, 2022. It's a few minutes before 3 o'clock in the afternoon here on the east coast of the United States. Just a few hours ago, Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland announced that the federal government would be suing the state of Idaho, asking a federal judge to enjoin the enforcement of Idaho's near total ban on abortion. You might say, well, wait a minute, Judge. I thought the Supreme Court said that the states got to decide. Well, yes, the Supreme Court did say that in a 6-3 ruling. the famous, or if you're on the other side, the infamous invalidation overruling of Roe versus Wade. That decision by Justice Sam Alito said

the federal government has no say in abortion. The Congress cannot legislate on abortion, and the courts cannot interpret on abortion. It's entirely up to the states. And the state of Idaho, taking that at its word, made nearly all abortions unlawful. What does the federal government want? Well, the federal government funds hospitals. And the hospitals that the federal government funds, some of them are in Idaho, they treat emergency situations. The federal government is arguing in this case there might

very well be an emergency where the only way to save the life of the patient is to perform an abortion. So the doctors would have a clash. They licensed by if this happens in Idaho the doctors are licensed by the state of Idaho and they know that if they perform that abortion not only are they going to be prosecuted criminally but they'll never practice medicine again we want you to relieve them of this dilemma the state of Idaho is going to answer this to say to the federal government stay the hell out in Idaho abortions are not permitted. If somebody needs an abortion to save their life, they're going to have to go elsewhere. The courts are not going to undo what the Supreme Court has just ruled. It has ruled definitively that abortion is

up for the states to decide. This is Joe Biden's Justice Department. This is Merrick Garland, the former federal judge and now Attorney General of the United States, doing everything they can to wear away at the Dobbs decision, which invalidated Roe versus Wade. There are some very interesting issues here. When federal law, Medicare can pay for an abortion, clashes with state law, no abortions in the state of Idaho. What supersedes? Well, the general rule is federal law supersedes. But in an area where the Supreme Court has said the feds shall have no say, it's going to be for the Supreme Court to decide. As well, this is not a live, real case. There's not a woman sitting in an emergency room

whose doctors need to consider abortion in order to save her life. Without that live, real case, what the Constitution calls case or controversy, there's nothing for the court to decide. The federal government doesn't even have standing to come into a federal court in Idaho were I the federal judge I would dismiss the complaint for that reason we'll see where it goes Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom