Winmill Blocks Key Provision of Idaho’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
A federal judge in Boise has ruled that Idaho cannot prosecute physicians for performing abortions when pregnancy threatens a woman’s health or life, striking down a core restriction of the state’s nearly complete abortion ban.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued the decision Thursday in a case brought by Stacy Seyb, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise. The lawsuit, filed in 2024, challenged the constitutionality of Idaho’s Defense of Life Act and Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, both of which impose criminal penalties and medical license revocation for abortion providers.
Winmill found that Idaho’s restriction on abortions preserving maternal health violates the U.S. Constitution. “By allowing only life-saving abortions, Idaho’s ban infringes the right of pregnant women to obtain an abortion when necessary to preserve their health,” the judge wrote, as first reported by the Bonner County Daily Bee.
Seyb said the ruling restores her ability to practice medicine without legal jeopardy. “I have been caring for Idaho patients with high-risk pregnancies for nearly 30 years. Today’s ruling allows me to once again offer patients with serious medical conditions the option of ending a pregnancy without leaving the state and to practice medicine without fear of criminal prosecution,” she said in a statement.
Limited Scope of the Ruling
The decision, however, is narrower than abortion advocates sought. Winmill upheld Idaho’s authority to restrict abortions in cases of severe fetal abnormalities when no maternal health risk exists, finding those restrictions constitutionally permissible.
The judge also declined to overturn Idaho’s ban on abortions to prevent self-harm, though the ruling preserves Idaho’s ability to prosecute physicians who perform such procedures.
Idaho’s abortion restrictions took effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion and returned regulation to the states. Idaho’s near-total ban has made the state one of the most restrictive in the nation.
State Plans Appeal
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced the state will appeal Winmill’s decision immediately. “We are confident this decision will be overturned,” Labrador told the Bonner County Daily Bee. His office defended the state’s position during the week-long trial in June, arguing that abortion is “gruesome and barbaric.” Jim Craig, Division Chief for Civil Litigation and Constitutional Defense in the Attorney General’s Office, led the state’s defense.
The Winmill ruling follows previous legal challenges to Idaho’s abortion laws. In 2023, the Idaho Supreme Court addressed a “death-of-the-mother exception” in a Planned Parenthood case. In 2025, a separate Ada County case involved four Idaho women challenging aspects of the state’s restrictions.
What Comes Next
The state’s appeal will likely move through federal appellate courts. The outcome will determine whether Idaho can enforce its health-exception ban or whether Seyb’s victory stands as federal law governing abortion access in the state. Legal observers expect the case to eventually reach higher courts, potentially shaping abortion policy across the Mountain West region.
For now, Idaho physicians treating high-risk pregnancies have clearer legal ground to discuss abortion as a medical option when pregnancy threatens a patient’s health—though the broader prohibition on abortion access in Idaho remains in effect for other circumstances.