On October 22, 2024 FFRF signed onto this 9th Circuit brief concerning the right to emergency abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) in the state of Idaho. EMTALA requires hospitals to stabilize patients experiencing a medical emergency at Medicare-funded hospitals.
The United States originally brought suit against Idaho officials to ensure that abortion care is available to stabilize patients, which directly conflicts with Idaho’s limitations on abortion. The case went to the Supreme Court after a lower court granted an injunction that allowed patients to receive emergency abortions. The case was dismissed by the Supreme Court in June 2024, which temporarily allowed for emergency abortions to resume in Idaho, but did not definitively rule on the right to emergency abortion care. It was sent back to the 9th Circuit, which is preparing to make a final ruling on that question.
This brief was coordinated and drafted by the National Women’s Law Center and was signed by a coalition of over 60 groups. FFRF previously signed onto a brief in this case when it was at the US Supreme Court.
