On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether Idaho's strict abortion ban applies to emergency situations. Since the ban went into effect, the state's largest hospital system said the number of people needing flights out of Idaho for emergency abortions has risen sharply.
In 2023, Idaho's ban on emergency abortions was put on hold by a federal court. St. Luke's Health System said they only had to send one patient out of state for an emergency pregnancy termination that year. In January, the Supreme Court lifted the hold, and St. Luke's said it had to airlift six patients to neighboring states for emergency pregnancy terminations in the following three months.
