FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2024
Contact: William Lutz 202-785-5100
SCOTUS Allows Access to Emergency Abortion Care in Idaho—For Now
Washington, DC — IWPR President and CEO Dr. Jamila K. Taylor issued the following statement after the Supreme Court’s decision prevented Idaho from enforcing its extreme abortion bans in cases where a pregnant person’s health is at risk while litigation continues, but failed to resolve the underlying question of whether state laws like Idaho’s take precedence over the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This is the law that mandates that hospitals receiving Medicare funding provide necessary stabilizing treatment to all patients in emergencies, including pregnant people facing serious medical conditions who may need abortion care.
“Let me be clear: abortion is health care. And while today’s Supreme Court ruling provides short-term relief for women in Idaho, it is not an adequate solution and falls well short of the guarantees of access to care that patients around the country deserve.”
“As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson highlighted in her opinion, ‘this court dawdles and the country waits,’ while pregnant people and their doctors face dangerous and legally murky situations. Already, one in five obstetricians and gynecologists in Idaho have left the state, leading to the closure of maternity wards, and forcing several patients to be airlifted out of state for emergency treatment. Today’s ruling may offer limited respite in Idaho, but the Supreme Court has once again failed to uphold fundamental protections for women. IWPR is committed to continuing this fight until everyone—no matter where they live—has full access to the abortion care they need.”
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research strives to win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society. As a leading national think tank, IWPR builds evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families. Learn more at IWPR.org and follow us on Twitter.
