White House moves to drop Biden-era lawsuit against Idaho pro-life law

Denver Newsroom, Mar 8, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Trump administration moves to drop Biden-era lawsuit against Idaho pro-life law 

The Trump administration this week moved to drop a Biden-era federal lawsuit against Idaho’s broad abortion ban.

The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the Biden-era lawsuit, according to court papers filed by St. Luke’s Health System, which has also sued the state over the law. 

Idaho state law largely outlaws abortion but allows for it in life-threatening situations as well as in cases of rape or incest. The Biden administration had argued that the strict ban violates the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.

The Supreme Court last year blocked the law but did not fully resolve the issue, which went before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in December. The appeals court has not ruled yet. 

A district court this week, meanwhile, ruled that a temporary block of the pro-life law would continue after the federal government dropped its suit. 

Wyoming legislators pass ultrasound requirement for chemical abortions 

Legislators in Wyoming voted to require abortion providers to offer ultrasounds in the event of chemical abortions, passing the law even after state Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed it.

Both the Wyoming House and Senate voted in a landslide in favor of the bill following Gordon’s Monday veto, meeting the two-thirds threshold to override the governor’s rejection of the law.

The ultrasound law is designed to give pregnant women “the opportunity to view the active ultrasound of the unborn baby and view the fetal heart motion or hear the heartbeat of the unborn baby if the heartbeat is audible.” 

Effective immediately, the new law requires patients to receive an ultrasound at least 48 hours before having a chemical abortion. 

Gordon had vetoed the bill citing concerns that the law could be traumatizing for victims of rape and incest as the procedure is likely to require a transvaginal ultrasound.

Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman, a Republican and the primary sponsor of the bill, maintained that having an ultrasound is a matter of women’s safety. Some pregnancy conditions such as an ectopic pregnancy can only be ruled out with an ultrasound but can have high risk factors for a woman taking an abortion pill. 

Providers who violate the ultrasound law face up to six months’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of $9,000, or both. 

A group of abortion advocates quickly filed a legal challenge against the ultrasound law as well as against a separate law requiring surgical abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. 

Highlights from Georgia’s March for Life 

Georgia pro-lifers on Thursday gathered in Atlanta for the state’s annual March for Life. 

Pro-lifers carried handmade signs with various messages including “Live, Laugh, Love Them Both” and “Every Beating [Heart] Matters to God.”

The rally began at 11 a.m. across from the Georgia capitol building at Liberty Plaza. The march began at noon. 

Super Bowl champion Benjamin Watson — a retired NFL tight end for the New England Patriots — spoke at the event. Watson, an outspoken pro-life advocate, authored the book “The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-life Commitment to Justice.” 

Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv, also spoke at the event, as did Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. 

Other speakers included state Sen. Benjamin Watson, columnist and Baptist Pastor Rev. Thomas Hammond Jr., media personality Martha Zoller, former deputy director of the Georgia Republican Party Janelle King, and Christian speaker and author April Chapman. 

Georgia Life Alliance and the March for Life Education and Defense Fund partnered to hold the event.

Nevada legislators propose euthanasia pill

Nevada legislators have introduced a bill to legalize euthanasia to end the lives of patients with terminal conditions. 

The bill, which would legalize physician-assisted suicide in Nevada, enables an adult patient who has been given a terminal diagnosis to request life-ending medication. The bill would require that the patient be diagnosed with a terminal condition by at least two practitioners. It also would require that the patient make the decision voluntarily and be deemed mentally capable to make the decision.

While a medical practitioner would provide the pill, the patient would administer it. The bill also requires the death certificate to state that the patient died of his or her terminal condition.

The bill allows doctors the right to refuse to prescribe medication. If they refuse, they are required to help facilitate the patient’s transfer to a different provider to access the euthanasia pill.

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a similar bill two years ago. The Archdiocese of Las Vegas advocated against the bill at the time, citing in part concerns that safeguards surrounding the bill would eventually be removed.

Republican state Rep. Danielle Gallant and Democratic state Rep. Joe Dalia sponsored the legislation. The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing yet.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262635/white-house-moves-to-drop-biden-era-lawsuit-against-idaho-pro-life-law