⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Idaho physician Stacy Seyb challenges abortion restrictions that he says prevent needed care for high-risk pregnancies. One patient with kidney failure faced losing her place on the transplant list if she remained pregnant. Idaho law generally criminalizes abortion, with a medical exception to prevent the patient's death that excludes danger from self-harm. Seyb sued to protect care for serious health risks as well. After a trial, the district court barred enforcement in cases involving serious, lasting harm to the patient's health, or death from self-harm. It later limited that protection to Seyb himself while the case is appealed. At this September twenty-second hearing, the state seeks a stay—a temporary pause in that protection. Seyb seeks to restore the broader injunction. Mathew Hoffmann will argue for Idaho's Attorney General and the Ada County prosecutor that Dobbs leaves these policy choices to elected lawmakers. The court must consider the asserted constitutional right, medical evidence, and who an injunction can protect. This hearing concerns interim relief, not a final appellate ruling.

Seyb v. Labrador, et al. (No. 26-5360) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued September 22, 2026.