06.27.2024 / Statement

Families USA’s Statement on Supreme Court’s Punt, Failure to Protect Health and Lives of Millions of Pregnant People Nationwide

WASHINGTON, DC –Yael Lehmann, Interim Executive Director of Families USA, issued the following statement today on the Supreme Court ruling on the consolidated cases Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States on whether a state abortion ban conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This nearly 40-year-old federal law requires hospitals to provide treatment for emergency medical conditions, including pregnancy complications.

“The Supreme Court’s decision today means continued uncertainty for millions of pregnant people and families in America. While pregnant Idahoans can breathe a temporary sigh of relief, there are millions of people across nearly two dozen states who continue to experience the consequences of statewide abortion restrictions and bans, and who are left in limbo by this decision.

“It was just two years ago that this court overturned Roe v. Wade, putting politics between families and their doctors, despite the objections of an overwhelming majority of Americans. Today, this same court had an opportunity to emphatically say that politics and politicians have no place in our nation’s emergency rooms, and that doctors, not judges or anti-abortion extremists, know what’s best for their patients. This court could have emphatically said that everyone in America should have access to emergency medical care when needed. Instead, they punted.

“The movement for better health and health care in this country does not end here, and Families USA remains committed to fighting back against any and all attacks on our health and reproductive freedoms.”

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Families USA, a leading national voice for health care consumers, is dedicated to the achievement of high quality, affordable health care and improved health for all.