Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) released a statement following the Supreme Court’s consolidated decision in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, in which the Court dismissed the case and reinstated a lower-court ruling pausing Idaho’s near-total abortion ban:

“While today’s Supreme Court ruling means some patients won’t be forced to bleed out in hospital parking lots waiting for emergency medical care, make no mistake—narrow exceptions to abortion bans do not prevent harm to pregnant Americans,” said Kuster. “There should be no question that these protections in the federal emergency medicine law known as EMTALA include abortion care—which can sometimes be the only lifesaving option for pregnant patients in dire situations. Today’s decision is a temporary reprieve, not a victory. I will continue fighting to ensure that women and patients across the country can access the full slate of reproductive health care, including emergency abortion, regardless of where they live.” 

The 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals with emergency departments to provide emergency medical care and stabilizing treatment to presenting patients regardless of their ability to pay. This includes offering abortion care to stabilize a pregnant patient in an emergent situation, which has drawn outsized significance in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

The Biden Administration sued Idaho over the state’s near total abortion ban, arguing federal statute supersedes state law or mandates. The Supreme Court’s ruling did not answer the core decision about whether emergency abortions are protected under EMTALA. Instead, today’s ruling dismissed the case and returned it to the lower courts for further litigation. 

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