A judge expanded abortion access in Idaho last month. Another court paused his decision

Nicole Blanchard, The Idaho Statesman on Sep 3, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — A federal appeals court has paused a decision that would have prevented Idaho officials from enforcing the state’s abortion ban against a specific doctor when pregnancy threatened a woman’s health or put her at risk for death from self-harm.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered a stay of an injunction that U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, of the District of Idaho, created last month when he issued his decision in a case brought by a Boise maternal-fetal medicine specialist against Idaho officials.

The appeals court’s decision comes just a week after Winmill himself agreed to stay part of his injunction so his ruling applied only to Dr. Stacy Seyb, the specialist who sued over abortion restrictions he said prevented him from providing his high-risk patients with adequate care.

Winmill’s original decision prevented Idaho from enforcing its abortion bans when remaining pregnant threatens a woman’s physical health or when a pregnant person’s life is at risk from self-harm. He allowed Idaho’s law to stand in cases of fatal fetal anomalies, or conditions where a baby is expected to die soon after birth.

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office, which intervened in the lawsuit and defended state laws at a bench trial in June, appealed Winmill’s decision to the 9th Circuit days after his order. As part of the appeal, the Attorney General’s Office asked that Winmill’s decision be put on hold pending further court proceedings.

The case is scheduled for oral arguments on Sept. 22.

In a statement, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador praised the court’s decision.

“Idaho can enforce the law again while this case is heard, which means unborn children and their mothers in our state are protected under Idaho law and doctors can continue making the good-faith judgments the law has always allowed,” Labrador said. “The Supreme Court settled in Dobbs that this decision belongs to the people of Idaho and their elected representatives. We will continue to defend it as far as needed.”

Stephanie Toti, executive director of the Lawyering Project, which represented Seyb, told the Idaho Statesman in a statement that the nonprofit is hopeful the appeals court will allow Winmill’s injunction to resume following oral arguments later this month.

“The Constitution protects pregnant people’s access to life- and health-preserving abortion care,” Toti said.

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