Cambridge, MA, June 27, 2024 –Today, the Supreme Court of the United States dismissed the consolidated cases Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States, lifting a stay it had previously placed on a federal district court order, which will allow pregnant people in Idaho to receive lifesaving medical care—including abortion care—under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) for now as the lower courts continue to litigate this case.
Kelly Blanchard, president of Ibis Reproductive Health, released the following statement in response to this decision:
Everyone has the right to access to lifesaving and essential health care treatment, and pregnant people are no exception. While we are heartened that, for now, pregnant people in Idaho will have access to stabilizing and lifesaving health care, the Justices’ decision to return this case to the lower courts instead of affirming that EMTALA requires hospitals to provide lifesaving and stabilizing medical care—including abortion care—to pregnant people means the threat to pregnant peoples’ lives nationwide is far from over.
Just two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, this case is yet another assault on health care, human rights, and bodily autonomy that has nothing to do with scientific evidence or medical best practice, and instead contributes to an ongoing public health crisis and disproportionately harms communities that already experience systematic oppression and face the greatest barriers to care, including Black people, Indigenous peoples, AANHPI people, Latine people, LGTBQ+ people, young people, people with disabilities, immigrants, those working to make ends meet, and people living in geographically isolated areas. We call on policymakers to do everything in their power to ensure that everyone—including pregnant people—can access lifesaving medical care no matter who they are or where they live. And at Ibis, we remain committed to identifying innovative ways to expand access to abortion and other reproductive health care so that everyone can exercise their bodily autonomy without barriers and make the decisions about their futures and families that are right for them.