BOISE — Litigation of Idaho’s abortion law continues after a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals filing on Thursday paused an Idaho federal court ruling on the constitutionality of Idaho’s abortion ban.

The order this week came after a legal back-and-forth in the past month pertaining to Idaho’s “Defense of Life Act,” which implemented a near-total ban on abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The legal battle was prompted by a suit from the Lawyering Project and Legal Voice on behalf of Dr. Stacy Seyb, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist with St. Luke’s Health System who exclusively treats women with high-risk pregnancies. Seyb has contended Idaho not having an abortion exception to protect the health of the mother has resulted in patients needing to be flown out of state in order to receive abortion care.

In an Aug. 13 ruling, U.S. District Court of Idaho Judge B. Lynn Winmill largely sided with Seyb, finding Idaho’s ban was unconstitutional on the grounds its lack of an exception for abortions in cases where the mother’s health is threatened — including in cases of potential self-harm — was in violation of Fourth Amendment Protections, as was previously reported by the Idaho Press.

That ruling resulted in the Ada County prosecuting attorney and the Idaho attorney general being prohibiting from enforcing the state’s abortion ban when a good-faith determination is made by a physician that continuing the pregnancy brings a “non-negligible risk” of serious and lasting harm to the health of the pregnant woman.

Less than a week after this decision, Attorney General Raúl Labrador made an emergency motion requesting the district court to stay its injunction and allow for the continued enforcement for the Defense of Life Act as the appeals process continues. A release from Labrador’s office argued the injunction violates the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and was too broad as it improperly blocks Idaho from enforcing its law against each doctor in the state.

Winmill subsequently narrowed the ruling following Labrador’s appeal, limiting the injunction to Seyb’s practice, as was previously reported by the Idaho Capital Sun.

The order from U.S. Court of Appeals filed Thursday will now pause Winmill’s injunction pending a briefing and oral arguments, with two appeals court judges due to rule on the prior emergency motion.

Oral arguments on whether pausing a key enforcement area of Idaho’s abortion law is appropriate are due to be held Sept. 22.