The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires Medicare-funded hospitals to provide “necessary stabilizing treatment” for any patient experiencing a medical emergency, regardless of the patient’s background or ability to pay. For pregnant patients, necessary stabilizing treatment can include emergency abortion care. By requiring that hospitals provide all patients with the requisite standard of emergency care, EMTALA plays a critical role in addressing health disparities nationwide and ameliorating the country’s maternal health crisis.
Now, EMTALA’s vital protections are at risk. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Idaho passed a draconian abortion ban that criminalizes nearly all abortions with the exception of abortions necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant person. In August 2022, the Biden Administration sued to stop the ban from taking effect, arguing that it unlawfully conflicts with EMTALA by criminalizing emergency abortion care otherwise required under the federal law.
A flurry of litigation followed. First, a federal district court agreed with the Biden Administration that the ban conflicts with EMTALA and blocked the Idaho ban from going into effect. Then, after the defendants appealed, a three-member panel of the Ninth Circuit put the district-court decision on hold and reinstated the abortion ban. Shortly thereafter, the full Ninth Circuit reversed course and blocked the ban from taking effect pending an appeal. Finally, on January 5, 2024, the Supreme Court intervened, granting a request from Idaho and its legislature to once again put the district court’s decision on hold and allow the ban to take effect.
On March 28, 2024, Americans United, along with the National Women’s Law Center and allied groups, filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court. The brief explains that EMTALA guarantees everyone the right to emergency medical treatment nationwide, including pregnant people who may require abortion care to stabilize emergency medical conditions. Idaho’s abortion ban directly conflicts with this nearly 40-year-old federal law, endangering the health and lives of pregnant people, especially Black, Indigenous and other people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people working to make ends meet, and others who already face excessive barriers to health care.
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that its decision to review the case had been mistakenly granted. The Court’s ruling leaves in place the lower court’s decision blocking the ban from going into effect. But, because the Supreme Court did not weigh in on the merits of the lawsuit, Idahoans’ rights remain in limbo as the case continues through the litigation process.
The case is now back before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On October 22, 2024, Americans United joined a coalition of civil-rights groups by signing onto an amicus brief before the Ninth Circuit. The brief urges the court to affirm EMTALA’s requirement that Medicare-funded hospitals provide necessary stabilizing treatment—including emergency abortion care—for pregnant patients.
