Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Statement in Response to U.S. Supreme Court’s Opinion Related to Emergency Medical Care, including Abortion

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In reaction to today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, Nicole Clegg, Interim CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England released the following statement: 

“Everyone must be able to get the emergency care they need, when they need it, including pregnant people who need an abortion. Access is still threatened across the country, but for now, the Supreme Court’s ruling means that patients in Idaho will be able to get the care they need, according to federal law.

But let’s be clear: The U.S. Supreme Court had the opportunity today to be explicit that the federal EMTALA law protects the right to abortion in an emergency in every state — regardless of a state’s abortion ban — and it chose not to. Based on this opinion, we expect that litigation will continue in the lower courts.

The overturning of Roe two years ago this month, by this same Supreme Court, unleashed a national health care crisis that jeopardizes the lives of pregnant women, even as they seek care for serious and life-threatening medical issues in emergency rooms. Overturning Roe was never about sending the issue of abortion back to the states. It was about controlling our lives, bodies, and futures and about making abortion inaccessible at every turn.” 

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About EMTALA and This Case: 

• For nearly 40 years, EMTALA has been a long-settled federal law that guarantees everyone the right to treatment for emergency medical conditions nationwide, including pregnant people who need an abortion.  
• EMTALA remains in place even after the 2022 Supreme Court Dobbs ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade. EMTALA supersedes state law, including abortion bans.   
• EMTALA has always protected pregnant people in medical emergencies and required stabilizing emergency abortion care. EMTALA contains no exceptions: hospitals must provide the treatment necessary to stabilize emergency medical conditions, and for some people, that means ending a pregnancy.  
• Without this law, a hospital could refuse to treat a pregnant person experiencing a medical emergency, like their water breaking dangerously early, uncontrollable hemorrhage which can cause kidney failure, sepsis, and pre-eclampsia which could cause seizures or brain injury. 
• Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States highlights the clash between states’ extreme abortion bans and federal obligations like those under EMTALA, and shows how states can, post-Dobbs, jeopardize access to critical medical care for patients across the country, including in states where abortion is legal, like in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. 

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About Planned Parenthood of Northern New England: PPNNE is the largest provider of sexual and reproductive health care across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In FY23, PPNNE provided care to more than 31,000 patients for more than 42,000 visits. There are 15 health centers across the region. PPNNE was named a 2021 and 2022 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in health care consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes PPNNE as a top-performing health care organization, achieving the 95th percentile or above for performance in patient experience, out of more than 20,000 medical practices.