The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday “inadvertently and briefly” uploaded what it said was a “document” about a ruling in a yet-to-be-released, high-profile case over Idaho’s ban on abortions that appeared to indicate the state would be required to allow emergency access for now.
“The Court’s Publications Unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the Court’s website,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said in a statement.
McCabe said the opinion “has not been released” but would be issued “in due course.”
Bloomberg News was first to report the errant posting and said the document appeared to indicate that the justices had voted to dismiss the Idaho case as “improvidently granted.”
Such an outcome would mean a lower court order requiring access to abortion in emergency situations in Idaho would be reinstated.
Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill, April 25, 2024.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP, FILE
Idaho’s Defense of Life Act prohibits nearly all abortions except in reported cases of rape, incest or to prevent the death of the mother. It does not allow an exception when the health of a pregnant woman is at risk.
The Biden administration argued the law is conflict with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, which requires hospitals receiving Medicare funds to provide “necessary stabilizing treatment.”
ABC News did not independently view or obtain the document and it is not clear that what was posted is, in fact, the final ruling. By tradition and under the court’s rules, the justices can change opinions up to the moment of public release.
The premature posting is an embarrassing misstep for the nation’s hight court, which has sought to tighten security measures around the drafting and release of opinions after a 2022 leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court recently made headlines after accidentally posting a document detailing its ruling in an Idaho abortion case. The document, which was supposed to remain sealed until the official announcement of the decision, was mistakenly uploaded to the court’s website for a brief period of time before being taken down.
The case in question involved a controversial Idaho law that sought to restrict access to abortion services in the state. The law, which was passed by the Idaho legislature in 2018, required doctors to inform patients seeking abortions about so-called “abortion reversal” procedures, which have been widely discredited by medical experts.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in the case was closely watched by both pro-choice and anti-abortion advocates, as it had the potential to set a precedent for similar laws in other states. The leaked document revealed that the court had struck down the Idaho law, ruling that it violated a woman’s constitutional right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
The accidental release of the document sparked speculation and debate among legal experts and activists on both sides of the abortion debate. Some argued that the leak could undermine the integrity of the court’s decision-making process, while others saw it as an opportunity for transparency and accountability.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court issued a statement acknowledging the mistake and apologizing for any confusion it may have caused. The court also assured the public that steps would be taken to prevent similar leaks from happening in the future.
Overall, the accidental posting of the document detailing the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Idaho abortion case serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in the judicial system. It also highlights the ongoing debate over reproductive rights and access to abortion services in the United States.
