The question of whether states can ban abortions when women’s health is in danger is unfortunately not a settled one. Recall that, in June, the Supreme Court said it shouldn’t have taken a case about Idaho’s abortion ban potentially conflicting with a federal law. Instead, the justices punted the case back to an appeals court, which heard arguments on Tuesday. The hearing was a bleak spectacle underscoring how the incoming Trump administration will torture women and pregnant people, including letting them have limbs amputated before they can have an abortion.

The case, Moyle v. United States, began in 2022 when the Biden administration sued Idaho arguing that its abortion ban, which lacks a health exception, violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. EMTALA is a federal law that requires emergency rooms to provide stabilizing care to patients, including abortion. After the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration sent out guidance, reminding ERs that they have to offer abortion if a pregnant patient’s life or health is threatened. Idaho disagreed, saying it has a right to regulate the practice of medicine and would only offer abortions if necessary to prevent death.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in April, then said in June that Idaho doctors can provide emergency abortions without fear of prosecution while the case continued in lower courts. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in concurrence that the ruling was no cause for celebration. “Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay,” she said. “But storm clouds loom ahead. Three Justices suggest, at least in this context, that States have free rein to nullify federal law.”

The court’s move ensured the case would be decided after the election, and that stories of pregnant women being airlifted to other states would stay out of the news. Donald Trump’s administration is expected to rescind Biden’s EMTALA guidance and drop the lawsuit against Idaho.