JEFFERSON CITY – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Moyle v. United States, punting the decision back to lower courts, and allowing emergency abortion care to continue in Idaho for now. The state of Idaho argued that the state’s abortion ban trumps the federal EMTALA rule, allowing them to deny stabilizing treatment to pregnant patients who present at a hospital or emergency room. Since the Idaho ban took effect in January, hospitals have been forced to airlift pregnant patients in medical emergencies to neighboring states in order to receive stabilizing care.
“Today’s ruling was silent on the merits at the heart of this case– are pregnant people deserving of emergency care? Punting the questions at the heart of this case down the road and leaving hundreds of thousands of patients and providers without answers. Fear and confusion alone serve as monumental barriers to abortion care. What should have been an unequivocal YES, the court instead allowed for further litigation to continue, buying itself the time to make a wholly unpopular decision without the assured electoral blowback.
“It’s clear that in abortion ban states like Idaho and Missouri, no one is coming to save us– so we are going to save ourselves. Later this year, Missourians will vote to end our abortion ban and enshrine a broad right to reproductive freedom in our state constitution. We will elect pro-abortion, pro-choice candidates to offices across the state, and we will build the future for ourselves that we deserve.” said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri.
People looking for accurate information about access to and support for abortion care right now can find it at INeedAnA.com and ReproLegalHelpline.org.