FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2024
Contact: Emma Bittner
(972) 510-3395 | Emma.Bittner@younginvincibles.org
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments that Could Impact Access to Abortion in Hospitals
(Washington, DC) – Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments concerning whether emergency room doctors can perform medically necessary abortions in states that prohibit them. This is the second abortion case the court will consider this year.
Idaho’s near total ban on abortion, with an exception to prevent the mother’s death, imposes criminal penalties and risks the suspension of their license for physicians who provide abortions outside of the strict parameters that the state law defines as necessary to prevent the death of a pregnant woman. However, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMATLA) requires hospitals to provide medically necessary care to stabilize patients in emergency situations, failure to do so results in fines and exclusion from further Medicare funding. While the law does not exclusively name abortion, in June 2022 the Biden-Harris administration issued a memo stating that EMTALA applies when abortion is necessary to stabilize a patient, including to avoid serious permanent impairment or dysfunction of bodily functions or any bodily organ.
The lawsuit, filed by the Biden-Harris administration, claims the Idaho law violates EMATLA and that the state must yield to federal law. This decision will have ramifications nationwide and largely impact states where abortions are illegal or heavily restricted.
In response, Martha Sanchez, Director of Health Care Policy and Advocacy at Young Invincibles said:
“Access to safe abortion care is a cornerstone of reproductive care. This ruling has the potential to have devastating effects nationwide, especially for states where abortion is heavily restricted. If implemented, pregnant people facing medical emergencies will be refused adequate life saving medical care, even in cases of ectopic pregnancies, severe preeclampsia, and complications with miscarriage, while doctors and hospitals are forced to succumb to the politics of extreme abortion laws.
We can not allow politicians to go to these extreme lengths to deny pregnant people from getting the critical care they need. The Supreme Court must rule with the health and safety of patients in mind and uphold EMATLA and the federal law to provide abortion as a critical part of emergency care.”
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Young Invincibles (YI) is a national advocacy and policy nonprofit organization focused on amplifying the voice of young people in the political process at the local, state, and federal levels. YI focuses on issues impacting young adults ages 18 to 34 in higher education, health care, economic security, and civic engagement. Our offices include Washington, D.C., California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Texas. For more information, please contact Emma Bittner at (972) 510-3395 or emma.bittner@younginvincibles.org