Supreme Court to Hear Case on Emergency Abortions

(Dreamstime)

Are states where abortion is banned required to perform emergency abortions?

The Supreme Court will hear Moyle v. United States, a case that pits Idaho’s ban on abortions, except when a patient faces death, against a federal law requiring hospitals that participate in Medicare to provide emergency treatment regardless of one’s ability to pay.

The Biden administration sued Idaho soon after its abortion ban went into effect, saying it violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, enacted in 1986, and saying “emergency treatment” includes abortions if the mother is facing “serious or life health threats.”

Idaho’s abortion ban went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

The case has made its way through lower courts, with a district court ruling in favor of the Biden administration and a federal court siding with Idaho.

The Supreme Court will now weigh in on whether EMTLA preempts state laws that prohibit abortions. Twenty-two states have joined in support of Idaho, claiming the Biden administration is trying to invalidate their abortion laws. Idaho has been allowed to continue enforcing its abortion ban until the court issues its decision, which is expected in June.

Dr. Jim Souza, the chief physician executive at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, told the Associated Press that since Idaho’s law went into effect, seven pregnant emergency room patients had to be flown out of state in 2022 and 2023.

Souza said the Idaho law forbids doctors to perform routine abortions for pregnancy emergencies unless the woman is close to death.

The state has argued its abortion ban allows for life-saving abortions along with treatment for ectopic pregnancies and accidental terminations, according to the AP. Idaho said EMTLA doesn’t dictate an exact standard of care.

“EMTALA does not require emergency rooms to become abortion enclaves in violation of state law,” the state said, according to the AP.

The AP, citing a study released in February, said nearly a quarter of obstetricians and more than half of maternal fetal medicine doctors have left Idaho since the abortion ban was enacted.

In January, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Biden administration, finding EMTLA does not require Texas hospitals to provide abortions in emergency rooms, according to the AP. The Biden administration has appealed.