US Supreme Court split over Idaho's strict abortion ban in medical emergencies

FILE PHOTO: Abortion rights activists and counter protesters protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the first anniversary of the court ruling in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision, in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court justices, wading back into the battle over abortion access, appeared divided on Wednesday in a case pitting Idaho's strict Republican-backed abortion ban against a federal law that ensures that patients can receive emergency care.

The justices heard arguments in an appeal by Idaho officials of a lower court's ruling that found that the 1986 U.S. law at issue, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), supersedes the state's near-total ban in the relatively rare circumstances when the two conflict.