TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The legal battle over Idaho’s Abortion Law continues to play out.

On Tuesday, in the case of USA v. State of Idaho, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard new arguments about the ban.

The Biden Administration sued Idaho two years ago. The suit contends the law violates the Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, because it prevents doctors from performing abortions that save their patients from serious infections, organ loss or other major medical issues.

John Bursch, the Vice President of Appellate Advocacy with the Alliance Defending Freedom, is representing Idaho in Court. He said the law requires medical staff to save both the mother and the unborn child if they come into the hospital and are injured. However, an injunction added by the district court would allow doctors to perform abortions in the emergency room.

“The Biden Administration turns that on its head and says, no, the EMTALA doesn’t treat the baby as a separate patient at all. The only one we’re concerned about is the mom and we can make this an abortion mandate in states like Idaho which have pro-life laws,” Bursch explained.

The Supreme Court heard the case in June but sent it back to the lower court on a procedural issue. But Bursch said the high court did issue a ruling that defined when abortions could be allowed even with Idaho’s restrictions.

“They said you could not perform abortions for a mental health reason, they said that if the baby had already reached viability, then it had to be delivered under EMTALA, it said the emergency had to be acute, like happening right now,” Bursch said.

The conflicts between whether Federal Law supersedes Idaho Law, or vice versa has led to confusion.

Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, the Idaho Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates said it’s also led to concern among Idahoans over how the law could impact them.

“People have approached us, worried that if they leave the state to access legal care outside of the state, they could be arrested coming back, which is absolutely untrue,” DelliCarpini-Tolman said.

She adds the lack of clarity also makes it difficult for doctors. Under Idaho’s Law, those who perform abortions could face prison time and lose their license.

“We’ve heard heartbreaking stories of doctors who are standing in emergency rooms or in other emergency room situations trying to get people to act to help care for patients. And being unable, even to get folks around them even if they are willing to act because people are afraid,” DelliCarpini-Tolman said.

Bursch argues Idaho’s law does allow doctors to perform abortions to save a mother’s life. It’s up to the doctor’s good judgment to do that.

For now, both sides are waiting to hear the Ninth District Court’s Ruling, which may take weeks to months before it’s issued.

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The high school football season is beginning to wrap up across the country and we start to take a closer look at player of the year awards.

But first, we want to let the fans decide on who they believe are the players most deserving before we here at High School On SI start naming the top performers of the 2024 season.

We continue to the West region and to the great state of Idaho and we ask the question: Who was the 2024 Idaho Football Player of the Year? 

This list consists of five worthy candidates and we’re asking for your help as the fan to vote on who you believe had the best season this fall.

Voting will end on December 31st, 2024.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. – SBLive Sports

Here are the nominations:

Chosen as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, there’s a lot to like about the 6-foot-4, 275-pound lineman from Rocky Mountain. In his junior season, the bulldozer of a lineman paved the way for Rocky Mountain’s offense in a major way, compiling an astounding 115 pancake blocks. Don’t think because he plays in Idaho that he’s not getting any national attention, as Tanner already has offers from Boise State, Boston College, BYU and Michigan among them.

Named the 6A Offensive Player of the Year, Symons put up some terrific numbers for the Vikings this past 2024 campaign. The junior 6-foot-4, 190-pound signal caller completed 194-of-294 passes for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns. When it came to passers, no one threw for more yards than Symon this past fall.

Another signal caller that put up some terrific numbers during the 2024 campaign was Garcia from Skyline. In helping lead the team to a successful 10-3 campaign, Garcia led the way on offense by completing 140-of-226 (61 percent) for 2,301 yards, 27 touchdowns through the air. On the ground, Garcia rushed for 448 yards and four scores.

No running back put up the kind of numbers Weil racked up throughout the 2024 season for Lakeland. The workhorse running back carried the rock 269 times for 1,945 yards and found pay dirt 30 times. Averaged an impressive 7.2 yards per carry, nearly setting up 2nd and short situations aplenty for the Lakeland offense.

Just a sophomore this past season, Vidlak made an impression on the Idaho high school football scene and recently received an offer from Stephen F. Austin. Vidlak was named conference player of the year after leading Fruitland to a quarterfinal playoff game and throwing for 2,649 yards and accounting for 33 total touchdowns.

Follow High School On SI throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi