The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Idaho for its legislation that restricts access to abortion procedures, CNN reports.

Set to go into effect later this month, the near-total abortion ban would make it almost impossible for patients to receive an abortion, even for lifesaving medical treatment.

“In the days since the Dobbs decision, there have been widespread reports of delays or denials to pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a news conference Tuesday (Aug. 2). “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that pregnant women get the medical care that they are entitled to.”

According to the trigger law, anyone providing the medical procedure would face a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The only exception to the law comes in the cases of rape and incest if the crimes are reported to law officials, or to prevent the death of the pregnant person.

As previously reported by REVOLT, the Supreme Court made the historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving the power of abortion rights in the hands of state legislatures.

Since the controversial ruling, the DOJ has created a task force whose mission is to protect the fight for abortions.

Biden’s administration is using the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act as grounds to sue the state. Per the policy, hospitals that receive Medicare funding “must provide medical treatment necessary to stabilize that condition before transferring or discharging the patient.”

“The Idaho law would make it a criminal offense for doctors to comply with EMTALA’s requirement to provide stabilizing treatment, even where a doctor determines that abortion is the medical treatment necessary to prevent a patient from suffering severe health risks or even death,” read the court filing.

Set to take effect on Aug. 25, abortion providers will be subjected to arrest and prosecution if the prosecutor can show that an abortion has been performed.