Supreme Court Considering Limiting Biden’s Tool for Abortion Access

The Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on whether a state that has banned abortion is required to perform emergency abortions.

Moyle v. United States is 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 in 2022.

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 issue a ruling on whether EMTALA 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.

Nearly a quarter of obstetricians and more than half of maternal fetal medicine doctors have left Idaho since the abortion ban was enacted.

A ruling in favor of the Biden administration could still give doctors in Idaho pause, fearful they could continue to face a threat of punishment.

“Some of these hospitals would rather be seen as denying care to a patient than providing an abortion that maybe was potentially illegal,” Emily Corrigan, a Boise based OB-GYN told Politico.

“Often the federal enforcement is just a fine. It’s not losing your license. It’s not jail time.”

A ruling in favor of Idaho could see other states with abortion bans begin to challenge more federal patient protections for abortions.

While no doctor has faced criminal charges for performing an abortion, doctors told Politico they are worried about being the test case.

“All it takes is one attorney general or one politician saying, ‘Oh, I disagree,’ and wanting to make a statement,” Nisha Verma, a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health and an OB-GYN based in Atlanta told Politico.

During oral arguments in April, the Biden administration said one Idaho hospital airlifts patients out of state once every other week, while proponents of Idaho’s law fear doctors will be forced to perform abortions in non-emergency situations.