Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts Statement on Supreme Court Decision in EMTALA Case

SCOTUS punts the case back to the lower court, reinstating access to emergency abortion care in Idaho for now

BOSTON – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order in Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States – the consolidated cases that could determine patients’ access to emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) – that sends the case back to the lower court rather than ruling on the case itself. The Supreme Court’s action reinstates the lower court’s order preventing Idaho from enforcing its abortion ban in cases that conflict with EMTALA while the case continues in the lower courts. 

Statement from Dominique Lee, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts: 

“With this ruling, the Supreme Court is merely delaying its decision on whether state abortion bans can block access to emergency abortion care. This decision does not change the fact that abortion bans and murky provisions for exceptions are forcing doctors to delay life-saving care and leading to dire health consequences for pregnant people across the country. Unless the courts uphold the right to emergency abortion care under EMTALA, this crisis will only get worse.  

Abortion saves lives. When a patient experiences a serious pregnancy complication like their water breaking dangerously early, or an uncontrollable hemorrhage, sepsis, or pre-eclampsia, abortion is often the safest, most effective course of action to preserve the patient’s health. 

Abortion opponents continue to weaponize the courts to try to ban abortion and they are willing to let pregnant people die to further their agenda. While today’s decision is a temporary relief, it is still an urgent call to action for Congress to enshrine a federal right to abortion, to vote for candidates who will protect reproductive freedom in November, and for those of us in protective states to further remove barriers to abortion so that people can get the care they need, when they need it.” 

About EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) has long been understood to protect emergency abortion care when it is the necessary treatment for a pregnant person experiencing a medical emergency. Enacted in 1986, EMTALA is a federal law that requires hospital emergency rooms that take Medicare funding to provide necessary treatment to people experiencing medical emergencies. Read more about the case here.  

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Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) is the state’s leading provider of sexual and reproductive health services and has been a leader in promoting sexual health for more than 90 years. We believe that all people deserve the information and expert services to make informed, personal decisions that affect their health, their lives and their futures. The mission of PPLM is to ensure every person in the state has access to sexual and reproductive health care and education no matter who they are, where they live, or who they love.