“The Supreme Court is preserving federal protections for emergency abortion care in Idaho for the time being. This decision is the bare minimum, and the Court should have been clear in affirming that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) protects abortion in emergency situations in all states.
“The fact that this case was before the Court and remains open to further litigation tells us everything we need to know about the anti-abortion movement: They would rather let pregnant people suffer life-threatening health consequences than allow them to receive stabilizing abortion care.
“This outcome does not remedy the harm that the Court’s anti-abortion justices inflicted with the Dobbs decision two years ago. Abortion is now banned in 14 states and highly restricted in many others. Guttmacher data show that over one million abortions occurred in the United States in 2023, and anti-abortion policymakers intend to ban every single one of them.
“Pregnant people deserve comprehensive access to abortion care no matter the circumstances. The only way to ensure people can access the care they need, in emergency situations or any other circumstances, is to repeal all abortion bans and restrictions. Policymakers at all levels must work to enact protective abortion polices that ensure everyone can access the abortion care they need and deserve.”