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AMNA NAWAZ: This week, the Trump
administration moved to dismiss
a lawsuit against the state of

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Idaho that sought to allow
abortions in the case
of medical emergencies.

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Idaho is one of 12 states
across the country with a
near-total abortion ban.

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The Biden administration
originally sued Idaho, arguing
that federal law requires

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doctors to perform an abortion
if a patient's life is at risk.

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Joining me now to discuss
the impact is Mary Ziegler,

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a professor at U.C. Davis School
of Law and legal historian
on reproductive rights.

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Mary, welcome back to the "News
Hour." Thanks for joining us.

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MARY ZIEGLER, University of
California, Davis, School of
Law: Thanks for having me.

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AMNA NAWAZ: So we should
note the Supreme Court
did weigh in on this

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case last year. It's that
ruling that allowed emergency
abortions to continue in Idaho,

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but they kicked the
key legal question back
to this appeals court.

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So, Mary, what does the Trump
administration's move to dismiss
the case mean for its future?

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MARY ZIEGLER: Well, at
the moment, the case seems
to be dead on arrival.

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There's an interesting
question about whether some
other party will try to

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intervene to keep the case
alive, in other words, whether
there will be some other

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party with standing that
can step in where the Trump
administration has backed away.

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But we don't know yet if
that's going to happen.

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AMNA NAWAZ: So emergency
room doctors had been
performing what they deemed

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to be lifesaving abortions
while this was in
litigation. Without the case,

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where does that leave doctors
on the ground and patients
in need of this care?

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MARY ZIEGLER: It leaves
them in a tremendous
amount of uncertainty.

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Idaho has maintained
throughout this litigation
that its abortion ban
permits what it views as

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medically necessary
abortions. Physicians have
been unclear as to whether
that's true and I think

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also unwilling to risk
the kind of penalties that
Idaho law authorizes for
making the wrong guess.

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And we have seen, since the
Supreme Court overturned
Roe v. Wade in 2022,

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that physicians have been
pretty risk-averse. So we

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would expect to see more
of the same in Idaho.
And that will, of course,

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have impacts on patients seeking
abortion and also patients
with wanted pregnancies.

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AMNA NAWAZ: There was,
it's my understanding,

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a sort of test period in
Idaho in which the ban was
in place before the Biden era

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litigation sort of paused the
implementation there. Did we
see anything in the way of

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impact during that period that
tells us what could be ahead
for the impact on the ground?

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MARY ZIEGLER: Yes, we did.

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So there were several
instances in which patients
had to be airlifted to
other hospitals because

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physicians in Idaho
were unwilling to treat
them or unsure if they
could intervene. Again,

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I think Idaho maintained
that that was an
overreaction by physicians.

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But we're going to see more
of the same almost inevitably
because physicians are

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unwilling to risk their
liberty and livelihoods
on guessing whether their
conduct will fit within

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an exception. And we'd expect
to see more of the same as
this law goes back into effect.

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AMNA NAWAZ: So, more broadly, in
terms of the implication here,

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I mean, what is this
signal to you about how
this Trump administration
views and plans to

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interpret federal laws that are
designed to protect emergency
or urgent care when they

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bump up against state laws
like state abortion bans
that conflict with that?

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MARY ZIEGLER: Yes, I mean,
one of the things I think
that's telling is that

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the Trump administration
hasn't been particularly
vocal about its positions

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on abortion. It hasn't been
something that President
Trump has been foregrounding.

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But I think, slowly and without
a lot of fanfare, we're starting
to see the Trump administration

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bringing policy into alignment
with the preferences of the
anti-abortion movement. And,

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of course, there are other
things we're waiting to
see on that front too,
most notably access

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to mifepristone, which is a drug
used in more than half of all
abortions in the United States.

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This week, the Trump
administration asked a
judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk,

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for more time to review the
administration's position on
mifepristone in critically

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important litigation going
forward. So I think this
is a sign that there's

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going to be more to come from
the Trump administration in
moving policy in a pretty

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radically or considerably
conservative direction
when it comes to abortion.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Related to
mifepristone access, there
was Mr. Trump's pick to
lead the FDA. Dr. Marty

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Makary, who was in his
confirmation hearing
on Capitol Hill today,
was asked about access

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to that abortion pill,
and would only say that he
has no preconceived plans
on mifepristone policy.

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So do you foresee access
to mifepristone going away
under new FDA leadership?

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MARY ZIEGLER: It seems
pretty likely that access
to mifepristone will
change. I don't know if the

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FDA and the Trump administration
will move to entirely
eliminate mifepristone access,

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for example, by using the
Comstock Act or just removing
mifepristone from the market,

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or if instead the Trump
administration will roll
back restrictions that had

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been in place on
mifepristone and eliminate
telehealth access to it.

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But it seems like that's the
bare minimum we're likely to

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see. I think it's more
likely to be a question
of when, rather than if.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Mary Ziegler from
U.C. Davis School of Law,

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always good to speak with you.
Thank you so much for making
the time. Appreciate it.

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MARY ZIEGLER: Thanks
for having me.