Congressman Dan Goldman Calls on Supreme Court to Reject Idaho’s Draconian Abortion Ban, Protect Emergency Medical Care

Idaho Abortion Ban Would Criminalize Doctors Providing Federally Mandated Emergency Medical Care, Putting Lives of Women at Risk

Amicus Brief Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Federal Law Requiring Doctors to Provide ‘Stabilizing Care’

Read the Amicus Brief Here

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman joined Senator Schumer (D-NY), Senator Murray (D-WA), House Democratic Leader Jeffries (NY-08), Congresswoman Lee (CA-12) and 253 members of Congress in submitting an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, two consolidated cases concerning the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA is a federal law that requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide necessary “stabilizing treatment” to patients experiencing medical emergencies, which can include abortion care.

After the Dobbs decision in 2022, a draconian anti-abortion law in Idaho went into effect that makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a patient’s pregnancy unless it is “necessary” to prevent the patient’s death. The United States sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the state’s law is preempted by EMTALA in those circumstances in which abortion may not be necessary to prevent imminent death, but still constitutes the necessary stabilizing treatment for a patient’s emergency medical condition. The district court agreed but the decision has now been challenged up to the Supreme Court level.

In their brief in support of the Justice Department, the lawmakers ask the Supreme Court to uphold the district court’s ruling. They argue that the congressional intent, text, and history of EMTALA make clear that covered hospitals must provide abortion care when it is the necessary stabilizing treatment for a patient’s emergency medical condition, and that EMTALA preempts Idaho’s abortion ban in emergency situations that present a serious threat to a patient’s health.

“Respecting the supremacy of federal law is about more than just protecting our system of government; it is about protecting people’s lives,” the members wrote. “If this Court allows Idaho’s near-total abortion ban to supersede federal law, pregnant patients in Idaho will continue to be denied appropriate medical treatment, placing them at heightened risk for medical complications and severe adverse health outcomes. And health care providers, forced to let Idaho’s abortion law take precedence over their medical judgment about their patients’ best interests, will continue their exile from Idaho, creating maternity-care ‘deserts’ all over the state.”

There have already been numerous reports of OB/GYNs leaving Idaho en masse since the state’s abortion ban went into effect—Idaho has since lost fifty-five percent of its maternal-fetal medicine specialists and three rural hospitals have shut down maternity services altogether.

“These are not hypothetical scenarios,” the members continued. “Because Idaho’s abortion ban contains no clear exceptions for the ‘emergency medical conditions’ covered by EMTALA, physicians are forced to wait until their patients are on the verge of death before providing abortion care. The result in other states with similar laws has been ‘significant maternal morbidity. Federal law does not allow Idaho to endanger the lives of its residents in this way.”

The lawmakers conclude by asking the Supreme Court to affirm the district court’s decision that EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion care when it is necessary as emergency medical treatment.

Congressman Dan Goldman is committed to protecting abortion access across the country and combatting abortion misinformation.

Last week, Goldman introduced the 'Abortion Care Awareness Act,' which would increase access to medically accurate information about abortion, specifically medication abortion. This legislation would ensure people have access to accurate information about where and how to obtain abortion services across the country, how to avoid anti-abortion centers intended to deceive patients, and how to identify misinformation about abortion care.

Additionally, Congressman Goldman hosted a virtual roundtable with representatives from New York State, New York City, and leading reproductive freedom organizations to discuss options for women seeking reproductive health care, New York’s status as a safe haven for abortion care and services, and how New York can continue to lead nationally in protecting reproductive freedoms. The discussion also centered on how the reproductive health care landscape may shift due to the upcoming Supreme Court case, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.

In March of 2023, the Congressman cosponsored the ‘Women’s Health Protection Act,’ which establishes a federal right for healthcare professionals to provide abortion care and the right for their patients to receive care, free from bans and medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care. The ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ codifies and expands upon the rights established in Roe v. Wade.

Congressman Goldman is a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus.

###