06.27.24

Cantwell Statement on Supreme Court’s EMTALA Decision

ICYMI: Cantwell released a snapshot report on how WA is handling the influx of patients from states like Idaho that have curtailed or eliminated access to reproductive health care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss a case which sought to challenge the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a longstanding federal law that has for decades required hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide necessary “stabilizing treatment” to patients experiencing medical emergencies, which can include abortion care. The case will now return to the lower courts for further litigation.

"OB/GYNs are leaving Idaho creating access deserts, Idaho women are being airlifted across the border to get the care they need, and rape victims are being denied Plan B to stop unwanted pregnancies," said Sen. Cantwell.  "Idaho and the courts are leaving our rights in tatters."

After the Dobbs decision in 2022, an extreme abortion ban in Idaho went into effect that makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a patient’s pregnancy unless it is “necessary” to prevent the patient’s death. The United States sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the state’s law is preempted by EMTALA in those circumstances in which abortion may not be necessary to prevent imminent death, but still constitutes the necessary stabilizing treatment for a patient’s emergency medical condition. The district court agreed; it held that in those limited, but critically important situations, EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion as an emergency medical treatment.

In March 2024, Sen. Cantwell joined 257 of her House and Senate colleagues in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States: “Respecting the supremacy of federal law is about more than just protecting our system of government; it is about protecting people’s lives. If this Court allows Idaho’s near-total abortion ban to supersede federal law, pregnant patients in Idaho will continue to be denied appropriate medical treatment, placing them at heightened risk for medical complications and severe adverse health outcomes,” the members wrote.

Earlier this week, Sen. Cantwell released a snapshot report which detailed how Washington state is handling the influx of patients from states who have curtailed or eliminated access to reproductive health care.

Sen. Cantwell continues to fight to protect reproductive freedom in Washington state and nationwide. A full timeline of her actions since Spring 2022, when it became clear the Supreme Court was likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, is available HERE.

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